


The Story of Us

by SneetchesToo



Series: Drabbles [2]
Category: Code Black (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Drama, F/M, Family, Kid Fic, Romance, Sequel, fake season 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-06-17 18:29:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 50,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15467409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SneetchesToo/pseuds/SneetchesToo
Summary: Sequel to “Third Year Drabbles” and it follows the adventures of our favorite family.





	1. Double Trouble

**Author's Note:**

> *I couldn’t help myself! I’m not sure how many chapters this will be. It was slated for 10-12 and so far has 5, so we’ll see.  
> **Disclaimer, this takes place roughly a month after the last chapter of the Drabbles.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leanne gets some shocking news.

Leanne couldn’t believe it. In fact, she was still in shock. Her hands hadn’t stopped shaking and she was fairly certain that her eyes had never been wider. She could feel her heart racing in her chest, her pulse quickening at the words that left Jesse’s mouth. He was simply confirming what her doctor had told her that morning, and yet, she was still awestruck.

“Leanne…” Jesse’s soft voice broke through her thoughts and she shook her head back and forth as she forced her eyes closed, and then open again. “Daddy? You okay there?”

“Jesse…” She turned her head back toward the nurse, her eyes blinking back the tears she could feel threatening to fall. “You can’t be serious?”

“Serious as a heart attack my dear.” He turned his attention back toward the monitor, his hand stilling as he stopped the wand over her stomach. “There’s definitely two of them in there.”

She let out a breath. She couldn’t believe this. It had to be fake. Someone was truly playing a cruel trick on her. Maybe something was wrong with the ultrasound machine. Although, it wouldn’t make much sense for something to be wrong with the machine at both her doctor’s office and Angels. 

“But…” She let out a huff as her head fell back against the pillow. She didn’t know what in the world to do with this information. She had no idea how to handle this. “What do I tell Ethan?”

“That he’s about to be a father, two times over.” The humor in Jesse’s voice did little to rattle her shaky nerves. 

“Not funny.” She spat back. She knew she had no right to be angry at her best-friend. In fact, she should be thanking him for all of his support. And yet, here she was, silently cursing the man for simply confirming what she had been told, and shown, a few hours earlier.

She wasn’t just pregnant with one baby. Rather. She was pregnant with twins. And boy was that some news she truly wasn’t expecting.

“Look Leanne,” Jesse pulled the wand back and shut the machine off, his soft eyes turning toward her as he spoke, “Ethan’s going to be thrilled, and you know it. Stop worrying about it.”

“But Jesse…” She felt like her throat was going to close up. She had no idea how to handle this. One baby was a shock enough, but two. She had no idea how her body would handle this. How her mind would handle this. She couldn’t even fathom having two infants at once. “Twins?”

“Yes Leanne.” He let out a soft chuckle as he tossed a towel at her. “Twins.”

“He’s gonna black out.” She could see Ethan now. He’d have a shit-eating grin on his face for all of five seconds before the truth sank in. Then she’d probably be calling Jack to come pick his unconscious body up off the floor. “He…”

“He’s going to be excited.” Jesse stood from his chair, his hand going out to pat her arm. “And you should be too.”

And with that, he was gone. 

Letting out another sigh she quickly wiped her stomach off before tossing the towel to the foot of the bed as she stood. Adjusting her scrub top she let out a low growl when she heard her name being called from somewhere down the hall. She just wanted five minutes to let this sink in. To truly take the time to let the fact that she was about to have two babies settle. But sadly, she knew that that wouldn’t happen as long as she was at work. Letting out a huff she quickly made her way toward the source of her name and the prospect of two little ones was quickly forgotten.

——

That night though, Leanne’s worries about the two babies currently growing in her stomach came back to haunt her. And they hit her like a semi. 

She had finished up her shift a few hours ago and after having picked Ariel up from school the pair had headed home. The teen had retreated to her room after grabbing a quick snack and Leanne had heard her mumble something about studying for finals. She knew that the girl was stressed, the end of the year was quickly approaching and Ariel seemed to be quite focused on ending this year on good terms. She had been studying constantly, and Ethan had even noted how incredibly focused she had seemed to be.

After checking to make sure that the girl was settled in okay Leanne had gone about her usual afternoon chores, making sure laundry was done and that dinner was started. Ethan had called five minutes after she had put the spaghetti on to cook to let her know that he would be late and she had tried her best not to act aggravated. Ever since they had told Campbell that they were expecting he had been making her work less hours, which in turn, seemed to mean Ethan worked more. At first she hadn’t minded it much, but now she just missed her fiancé.

She and Ariel had eaten in relative silence before the girl returned to her work and when Leanne had poked her head in to check on her at a little after 8:00pm she was already curled up in bed asleep. She had tucked her in quietly, dropping a kiss to her head as she pulled her history book from under her arm. After closing the door behind her she had decided that a shower was a must, and she had made her way into the bedroom with a soft sigh.

But five minutes into her shower she regretted her decision. She wasn’t sure why, but there was something about the warm water and the being alone, that made her mind wander. Dropping her hands to her stomach she let out a soft sob as the realization finally dawned on her. She was pregnant. Really, pregnant. And she was pregnant with twins amongst everything else. She felt her heart start to race again and she choked back another sob as she leaned back against the shower wall.

Two babies. She couldn’t even fathom what two babies would be like. Hell, she still couldn’t even fathom what one baby would be like. But at least she had some experience in that department. She knew what to expect when pregnant with one child and she knew what to expect with one newborn. She didn’t, however, know what to expect with twins. God, even just thinking the word was sending her heart into overdrive. Twins. Two babies. Two little versions of her. Two little versions of Ethan. Her mind hurt from the sudden influx of information that was filling it.

She wasn’t sure how long she stood there with her hands on her stomach and tears streaming down her face, but the water eventually started to run cold. Turning off the faucet she let out a huff when she heard the bedroom door open. She heard Ethan’s bag hit the floor, followed by his boots, and she quickly stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel. 

“Babe? You okay?” His voice was soft and gentle and everything that she needed to hear right then and there.

“Yeah.” She took a deep breath, her hands tugging the towel around her even tighter. “I’ll be right out.”

“No rush.” He called back. “I’m gonna check on the kid.”

She nodded her head before she realized what she was doing and when she heard the bedroom door shut once more she had to choke back another sob. He loved that girl so much and it still amazed her everyday just how passionate he was about taking care of her. Ever since they had gotten the official court ruling and Ariel had legally become hers, Ethan had been nothing but perfect. Not that he hadn’t loved the girl beforehand, but now, now that she was truly theirs, well he had amazed them both with his dedication to taking care of her.

He had also done nothing but dote on her, constantly. He was always checking on her, making sure that she was drinking enough fluids and that she wasn’t on her feet for too long. And he held her tightly every night, reminding her just much he loved her. He had wanted to start buying stuff immediately, and she had had to have a serious conversation with him about how they weren’t doing anything of the sort until at least 16 weeks. Until she was a little more certain that this baby wasn’t going anywhere. Knowing now that there were in fact two of them, she was especially grateful that they had held off.

“She’s out like a light.” His voice called from the bedroom and she had to shake herself from her thoughts. 

“Yeah.” She dried off quickly before pulling on her underwear and the t-shirt of his that she had grabbed. Ever since she had started to truly feel pregnant she had only felt comfortable sleeping in his giant shirts. He made the comment once about how much more sexy it made her. “Been that way since eight.”

“Wow.” She heard him pull open the drawers of his dresser and she dragged her brush through her hair as he opened the door behind her. “She must have had a rough day.”

“She’s been studying a lot.” Leanne watched as he pulled his Angels shirt over his head and tossed it in the direction of the hamper, missing by a long shot. She rolled her eyes at him, earning herself a chuckle, and she couldn’t help but smile when he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

“How’d the doctor’s visit go?” She knew that he had been upset that he wasn’t able to go with her, but there had been a traffic accident that shut down half of LA and he was needed in Center Stage before the sun had even come up.

“Great.” She could feel herself getting nervous all of a sudden. She knew that she had to tell him that there were two babies. That they were expecting twice the trouble in five months. “I got some pictures to show you.”

“I can’t wait to see them.” He dropped a kiss to her neck before pulling back and heading toward the shower. “I won’t be long.”

“Okay.” She whispered, her heart fluttering in her chest as she watched him strip the rest of his clothes and step into the shower. She would certainly never get tired of admiring that view.

——

She had collapsed into bed as soon as she left the bathroom and she must have dozed off because the next thing she knew it was almost 11:00pm and the space beside her was empty. Letting out a soft sigh she quietly dragged herself up off the mattress and allowed her eyes to focus as she scanned them across the room. There was no sign of Ethan anywhere and she felt horrible. She was sure that he probably just wanted to spend time with her while he had it and yet she had gone and fallen asleep on him.

Grabbing the pictures from out of the nightstand drawer she quietly made her way out of the bedroom and down the hall. She could see the light from his office shining from underneath the closed door and she figured that he must have retreated there to get some work done when he realized that she was going to be out for a while. She paused with her hand on the doorknob, her body seeming to freeze as she tried to get her breaths to even out. She shouldn’t be this nervous to tell him what was going on. He was her fiancé, the love of her life, her best-friend. She shouldn’t be so afraid of telling him that they were expecting twins. And that they were expecting them six weeks sooner than they had originally been told.

“Hey you.” She whispered as she pushed the door open slowly, her eyes going to meet his from across the room. He was seated behind his desk, his laptop open in front of him, a pen in his right hand as he read over something in front of him.

“Hey.” He dropped his pen as he lifted his eyes up to meet hers. “You sleep okay?”

“Yeah.” She let out a soft chuckle as she stepped into the room. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay.” He pushed himself away from the desk as he motioned for her to come over to him. She hesitated for a brief second, her heart pounding in her chest as she looked down at the pictures in her hands. “Those the pictures from today?”

“Yeah.” She nodded her head as she moved toward him slowly. “But um… there’s something we need to talk about.”

“Is everything okay?” She instantly felt bad for bringing it up like that, the look of panic on his face breaking her heart a little.

“Everything’s fine.” She took a deep breath as she stopped in front of him, her shaky hands clutching the pictures with all her might. “It’s just… I’m a little further along than we suspected.”

“What, like, a week or two?” His eyes were soft and gentle and she felt her heart calming in her chest. She knew that she had no reason to worry. That he would be just as supportive and loving of her now as he was this morning. Before everything got turned around.

“Try six.” She dropped her eyes downward as she choked back a sob. “Six weeks.”

“You’re kidding?” He reached out for her then, his hands connecting softly with her hips. “So how far along are you?”

“Fifteen weeks, three days.” She felt her heart starting to race once again and she could feel the tears pricking her eyes. “There’s more.”

“More?” He reached out with one hand, gripping her chin gently in his palm as he brought her eyes up to hers. “Are you okay? Is the baby okay?”

“Yeah. We’re fine.” She took a deep breath, her hands extending outward slowly in order to hand him the pictures from the ultrasound. “But there’s more than one baby in there.”

“Get out.” Ethan’s eyes went wide as he took the pictures from her. “Twins?”

“Yeah. Twins.” She closed her eyes as the tears started to fall and when she felt his arm wrap around her waist, pulling her to sit in his lap, she couldn’t help but let a sob escape her lips. “They’re healthy. Small, but healthy.”

“Small?” She heard the hint of panic in his voice, the way his breath caught in his chest. “They’re okay though.”

“They’re okay.” She settled herself against his chest as she draped her legs over his lap, her arm going to wrap around his waist as she pointed to the picture on the top of the pile. “Baby B is a little small. They think that maybe he or she was hiding in the original scans.” She took a deep breath, she prayed that her little boy or girl was going to okay, that his or her size would catch up to that of the other. “It could also be why they suspected I wasn’t as far along.”

“So two babies?” He turned his head toward hers, his eyes glistening as they filled with tears. “Two? Not just one?”

“Two.” She nodded her head as she offered him a gentle smile. “We go back in a month to find out gender if we want.”

“If we want. Of course we want.” He was beaming from ear to ear and she couldn’t help it when her heart fluttered in her chest. He was so excited. So incredibly excited. And she didn’t understand why she had been so worried to begin with. “Right? We want to know?”

“I guess.” She shrugged his shoulders at his questions. She wasn’t sure what the protocol was on that these days. She hadn’t bothered to find out with either one of her children what she was having. Eleven years ago that hadn’t been a thing, not like it was now. “If you want.”

“Do you want?” He dropped his forehead against hers, his arm moving to drop the pictures onto his desk as he tugged her closer. “Do you want to know?”

“I think it would be helpful.” She whispered, her eyes closing as she tried to calm herself. She could feel herself getting emotional, and while she was certain that the moment called for it, she still didn’t want to be completely out of control of her emotions just yet.

“Then we find out.” He whispered back, his lips pressing against hers gently. “I hope it’s one of each.”

“Me too.” She moved one of her hands up to cup his cheek as he pulled away from her slightly. “A boy and a girl would be nice.”

“With my luck though,” He reached out and cupped her cheek as well, his thumb brushing back her tears as he smiled at her brightly, “it’ll be two girls.”

“You’d be swimming in a sea of estrogen for the rest of your life.” She couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped her lips as she saw the twinkle in his eyes.

“There’s no place I’d rather be.” He whispered softly before he leaned down and kissed her once more. His lips were soft against hers but when she felt his hand tangle in her hair she knew that he was far from finished with her. And she was perfectly okay with that.


	2. Teenage Angst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariel doesn’t understand why her parents are shutting her out, but she’s tired of hiding from it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I know, I know, chapter 1 was all fluffy and butterflies. This chapter, not so much. But you guys know that I’m good on my promise for there to always be plenty of love to balance out the angst. So no worries, it won’t all be yelling and teenage angst.

Ariel had been the first to wake up the following morning, and when she noted that there were no sounds of movement coming from her parent’s room she let out a huff. She really didn’t want to have to ride the bus to school again but she knew that if they hadn’t woken up yet they likely weren’t going to anytime soon. Sighing, she pulled herself from the bed, grabbing her clothes for the day and heading toward her bathroom. After dropping her stuff off on the counter she quietly made her way toward the master bedroom, her hand reaching for the knob as she held her breath. 

She had never actually opened the door on them while in a compromising situation, but she always had this fear that she one day would. Turning the knob slowly she let out a breath when she caught sight of Leanne curled up in the middle of the bed, alone, her chest rising and falling softly as she slept. She looked around the room quickly for any signs of Ethan, but she saw none. She wondered if he had gotten called into work early again, something that seemed to be happening more and more lately.

“You might not want to wake her.” She heard a voice whisper from behind her and she jumped softly at the sound.

“Grandpa?” She turned slowly, her arm pulling the door shut behind her as she came face to face with the older man. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m your ride to school.” He whispered. “Your dad had to work early.”

“Why didn’t he just wake mom?” She moved toward the bathroom with a huff. It’s not that she wasn’t thankful that Jack was taking her instead of making her ride the bus, but she felt like she hadn’t gotten to spend much time with either one of her parent’s lately.

“He said she wasn’t feeling well.” His voice was still soft as he turned and followed her down the hall. 

“She never feels well.” She heard herself whisper before she could stop herself. She let out a sigh when she heard the man behind her chuckle softly.

“I’m sure she’s just tired.” He patted her arm softly before heading back toward the stairs. “You might wanna get ready. We got to leave soon.”

“I know.” She snapped back. Her eyes closing as she moved inside the bathroom slowly. 

She didn’t know what was going on with her parents lately, but it was really starting to bugging her that she seemed to be the only one who didn’t know what was going on. Ever since they had come home from San Diego and her hearing had ended, things had been weird, really weird. And she hated it. It’s not that she minded that Jack and Rox were now spending a lot more time around the house, and more specifically, a lot more time with her. But she hated that it seemed like neither Ethan nor Leanne had time for her anymore. They had worked so hard to get her, and now it seemed like they had forgotten about her.

After showering and dressing quickly she made her way downstairs, grabbing her back pack as she went. When she made it to the kitchen she noted that someone, probably Ethan, had made muffins at some point, and she grabbed one from the counter before turning her attention to the older man seated at the table. 

“Do you know when dad will be home?” She really wanted to talk to her parents about everything that had been going on and she figured that bringing it up to the older man was her best bet in getting Ethan’s attention.

“He didn’t say.” He quickly grabbed his coffee cup before standing and heading toward her. “Late I would imagine. He asked if I could stay with you after school.”

“Ugh.” She let out a moan. She didn’t understand why they didn’t trust her to be alone for the evening. “I’m almost fifteen. Are they ever going to trust me to be alone again?”

“It’s not that they don’t trust you sweetie.” He reached out and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he guided her toward the front door. “It’s that they worry. Especially if they have to work after dark.”

“But I’m fine.” She hated being treated like a child. “All I do is eat dinner and study anyway.”

“I know.” Jack pulled the front door open and gently ushered her through, turning to lock the object behind him as they went. “I’m sure it won’t be for too long. Just until one of them gets home.”

“I don’t understand why they’re treating me like this.” She crossed her arms over her chest as she settled herself against the seat of his truck. She watched as he climbed in beside her, his eyes shifting toward her as he shrugged his shoulders. She guessed that maybe he had almost as much of a clue about this as her.

“They love you Ariel.” He said softly. “That’s why they worry.”

She wanted to say something back but she couldn’t. She couldn’t form the words and she couldn’t wrap her head around any of this. It didn’t make any sense. What were they hiding from her that was so important that they had to treat her like a child? What could possibly be so important to the two of them that they had informed every other person in their world, except for her, about? She let out a huff as she closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry. She just wanted to go back to them being an open and loving family again. She didn’t understand why that all had to change.

——

Her afternoon hadn’t been any better than her morning, and she let out a groan when she saw Rox pull up outside of the school instead of Jack, or rather, instead of one of her parents. It was still taking some getting used to, having Rox around that was, but she had done her best to adjust. She knew that she and Ethan had made up and moved on, and her and Leanne seemed to be rather inseparable these days as well. It was still weird though, having her father’s ex-girlfriend hanging and all. It’s not that she wasn’t a good person, because she actually was, it was just a little strange knowing that at one point she had honestly wished this woman dead.

“Hey kid!” She heard Rox’s voice call as she pulled the car to a stop in front of her. 

“What are you doing here?” She huffed out. She watched the smile fall from Rox’s lips, but only for a brief second, and she felt bad for possibly having offended the woman. Again, she was grateful for the support, but she really just wanted to see her mom right now.

“Your dad asked if I could pick you up.” Her voice was soft and if she was phased by her attitude, she wasn’t letting it show. “He said he’d meet us for dinner.”

“What happened to Grandpa?” She asked quietly as she climbed into the passenger seat, dropping her bag onto the floorboard as she buckled her seat belt. “I thought he was picking me up.”

“Something came up.” Rox shrugged her shoulders as she pulled away from the school and headed in the direction of the house. “I’m not sure what though. Ethan didn’t say.”

“Oh.” She let out a sigh as she leaned her head back against the headrest. Of course Ethan didn’t say. He probably didn’t want her to know and he figured that not telling Rox was the easiest way to keep the secret from her.

“You okay?” Rox’s question startled her from her thoughts and she turned her head in the direction of the older woman. “You seem a little, off.”

“Just tired.” She whispered. She really didn’t want to get into it right now. And especially not with Rox. It’s not that she didn’t trust the woman, because for some reason she did, but she didn’t want to talk about this with anyone other than her parents. 

“Okay.” She was thankful when she seemed to drop it at that. 

They drove the rest of the way home in silence and she couldn’t help but let out a sigh when Rox exited the vehicle along with her. She was really hoping that the woman would trust her enough to stay home alone for a few hours. Following her up the stairs she watched as Rox used her key to let them inside and when she shut the door behind them Ariel let out a huff.

“I’m gonna go lay down.” She said softly. All of her sudden her head was pounding and she wanted nothing more than to just sleep the night away.

“You sure? I can help you study if you want.” Rox’s words were quiet, but she could tell that she felt bad for the situation they were in. Even though it wasn’t nearly her fault. “Or we could go to the mall?”

“I’m good.” She turned toward the stairs and headed up them slowly, stopping when she heard Rox let out a sigh from below. “You said something about dinner with dad?”

“Yeah.” When she turned back around she noted the smile on the other woman’s face. “He said to meet him at six. At the diner, by work. Even if he can’t leave to come home, he said he’d at least sneak away for a burger.”

“Okay.” She smiled back at her, hoping to reassure her that she didn’t blame her for this one bit. “I’ll be downstairs by 5:30.”

“Sounds good.” Rox offered her another smile and she turned back toward her room, her legs carrying her the rest of the way as she moved in silence. 

She closed her bedroom door behind her and dropped to the bed with a soft sob. She could feel the tears pricking at her eyes and she as much as didn’t want to cry, she almost felt like it was the only way she was going to obtain any sense of peace. Falling back against the pillows she wrapped her arms around herself tightly, closing her eyes as she let the tears fall down her cheeks. She hated feeling like this. She hated feeling like she didn’t belong. Like this had all been a giant mistake. She wondered if maybe Ethan and Leanne were second guessing their decision to adopt her. If maybe they had wished that she had gone back into the system. That she wasn’t theirs for the rest of her life.

——

Rox had woken her up a few hours later and she had showered quickly before changing clothes and meeting the woman downstairs. They had driven to the diner in silence and they had sat and waited for Ethan for a good thirty minutes before Rox’s phone had buzzed on the table beside her. Ariel let out a sigh when she saw the name of the sender and she leaned back against the booth and closed her eyes. He was cancelling, again. He was too busy, again. She felt her heart break a little in her chest.

“Your dad said something came up.” Rox whispered softly, her hands moving to place her phone back in it’s spot.

“Something always comes up.” She whispered. She felt tears prick at her eyes again and she didn’t want to get emotional. She didn’t want to break down in public. Especially when she knew half of the diner’s current patrons from Angels.

“He said he’s real sorry.” She could tell that Rox felt bad. That she was trying to be supportive.

“He’s always sorry.” She barely got the words out before she pushed herself from the booth and rushed toward the front door. 

She needed air, and she needed it now. She felt like she was suffocating, like the life was being drained out of her. She couldn’t focus and her head hurt and she felt like her whole world was turned upside down. She didn’t know how long she sat outside, tears streaming down her face, but she felt Rox’s arm wrap around her shoulders after a while and she gratefully leaned against the other woman. Letting out a sniffle she forced her eyes open, trying to readjust them to the sunlight.

“Do you think they regret it?” She whispered her question as she scrubbed at her face with her hands.

“Regret what honey?” Rox’s voice was calm and she felt her tug her a little closer as she spoke.

“Adopting me.” Just saying the words made her heart hurt. It had been such a big step, something they had worked so hard for. Why would they want to go back on that now? After everything they had been through together?

“No Ariel.” Rox turned her slowly then, bringing them face to face as she gripped her upper arms gently in her hands. “Your parents love you. More than anything in this world. They would never take it back. Ever.”

“Then…” She choked back a sob as she felt her whole body shake. “Then why are they doing this?”

“Doing what?” She could see the confusion on Rox’s face. The woman had no clue that this was an actual issue and she felt bad for dumping her problems on her like this.

“Pushing me away.” She whispered. “They never spend time with me. It’s always you or Grandpa, or Jesse. Hell, I’ve seen more of Noa and Mario in the last month than I have of them.” She let out a hiccup as she balled her fists up in front of her. “They act like they don’t love me anymore.”

“Oh Ariel.” Rox pulled her into a hug then, her arms wrapping around her tightly as she did her best to offer her some kind of comfort. “That’s not true. They love you so much honey.”

She choked back another sob as she clung to the woman tightly, tears pouring from her eyes as she let her words sink in. They sure weren’t acting like they loved her very much.

“Look Ariel…” Rox pushed her back gently, her eyes locking with hers as she spoke in a tone that made her heart almost stop. “Your parents, they’re… they’re going through some stuff okay? And they’re both really stressed out.” She felt her head start to spin at the influx of information. What could they possibly be going through that warranted them shutting her out? Weren’t they supposed to face things together, as a family? Wasn’t that the deal that they had made? “I’m sure they don’t even realize that you’re hurting.”

“But I am!” She hated that she shouted. Rox surely didn’t deserve this from her. Not when she was trying to be supportive. “I’m hurting and they don’t see it! They don’t even care!”

“They do care Ariel.” Rox gripped her arms tighter as she tried to get her to keep her focus on her. “They do care, I promise.”

“I…” She didn’t know what to say at that point, her whole body having given up on the fight. She let out a sigh as she let her shoulders slump forward, a soft sigh leaving her lips. “I just wanna go home.”

“Okay honey.” Rox wrapped an arm around her shoulders then, escorting her to the car in a comfortable silence.

They drove home that way, the only sounds in the car were her sniffles and Rox’s soft breaths. When they made it home she saw that Leanne’s car was in it’s space and she turned toward Rox with a shaky sob. She didn’t want her mom to know that she had just broken down like that in public. Especially when the woman didn’t even know that she was in the position to be breaking down.

“You go ahead to your room.” Rox squeezed her arm gently and offered her a smile. “I’ll talk to your mom.”

“Thank you.” She whispered, climbing from the vehicle slowly and making her way inside.

She bypassed Leanne’s room and went straight to hers, closing the door behind her before crawling into bed. She heard Rox enter the house then and she heard their soft voices in the hallway a few minutes later. She expected Leanne to come barging through the door, to wrap her in her arms and demand that she talk to her about all of this. But she didn’t, instead, she remained quiet. And Ariel cried herself to sleep at the thought that no one was going to come for her. Not now. And probably never again.


	3. Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ethan gets a little advice from some unsuspecting sources.

Ethan had made it home exactly nine hours after he had planned too. And he swore up and down that if Campbell did so much as text him over the next 72 hours that he was going to strangle the man. He understood that they were short staffed, what with Noa still recovering from her accident and Leanne working shorter shifts due to the babies. But he still didn’t understand the need to run him completely ragged day in and day out. Pulling into the driveway he let out a sigh when he noticed that Rox’s car was parked next to Leanne’s, he surely hadn’t expected her to stay so late. He said a silent prayer that everything was okay as he turned his Jeep off and hopped out, making his way to the front door quickly.

When he entered the house he could make out the TV playing in the den down the hall, but from the looks of it the rest of the house was quiet. He wondered if Ariel had snuck downstairs for a late night snack after studying for hours on end again. Dropping his stuff by the front door he closed it softly behind him before toeing off his boots. He made his way down the hall and through the kitchen and he let out a huff when he saw Rox sitting on the couch, a half-eaten bowl of popcorn in her lap, a rerun of some 70s sitcom playing on the TV.

“What the hell are you still doing here?” He asked loudly. He watched as her head turned quickly in his direction and he chuckled at the shocked look on her face.

“I stayed because I’m worried about your girls.” She replied softly, setting the bowl down next to her as she muted the TV.

“My girls?” He moved around the couch then, depositing himself next to her as he grabbed a handful of popcorn. He couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten something that didn’t come out of a vending machine. “Is everything okay?”

“Ariel’s… struggling.” Her words caused his heart to stop in his chest for a brief moment. He had no idea that the teen was having issues. She hadn’t said anything to him, neither had Leanne.

“Struggling? With what?” He dropped his head back against the cushions as she closed his eyes. He was entirely too tired to deal with teenage angst right now. He loved the girl more than anything, but sometimes the drama that surrounded having an almost fifteen year old was too much for him to handle.

“Her absent father.” Rox’s words were like a dagger to his heart. He wasn’t an absent father. Was he? “And her absent mother.”

“You’re kidding right?” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Was she really that upset about things?

“Not at all Ethan.” Judging by Rox’s tone though, this wasn’t anywhere close to a joke. “She’s hurt Ethan. She thinks that you and Leanne want to send her back.”

“She what?!” He practically shouted his question and he prayed that neither one of the two sleeping girls upstairs heard him. “Don’t tell me that.”

“She’s scared Ethan.” Rox’s words were soft and when she turned to face him, her eyes glistening in the dim light of the room, he felt his heart break in his chest. He couldn’t believe that they were doing this to her. Again. “She doesn’t understand why you guys have been so busy. You haven’t spent any time with her lately. It’s starting to take it’s toll.”

“I…” He didn’t know what to say to her. He didn’t know how to make this better. “I guess I just assumed she was okay. I mean… she never said anything.”

“Ethan please.” Rox reached over and patted his arm gently. “She’s fourteen, you really think she’s going to just come right out and say it?”

“You’ve met her!” He watched as she rolled her eyes, a soft chuckle leaving her lips as she shook her head. “She’s not really one to keep her opinions to herself.”

“I wonder where she learned that from.” He really could have done without Rox’s sarcastic comments at the moment. “Seriously though Ethan. You guys need to talk to her. You need to tell her about the babies and the engagement and everything else. She may be fourteen, but she’s still a kid.”

“I know.” He closed his eyes for a second before a realization hit him. Did she just say babies? Engagement? “Wait a minute…”

“What Ethan?” He watched as she rose from her spot next to him, reaching out to grab the bowl that had been between them.

“You said babies?” He grabbed her wrist gently, his eyes widening as he stared her down from his seat. “Did Leanne tell you?”

“Yes.” She was very matter-of-fact with her statement and it killed him. She didn’t seem the least bit phased that she knew such things. “We talked earlier. I told her about Ariel and she told me about her appointment yesterday. Congrats, again, by the way.”

“She…” He let out a groan. He was going to get her for that. “Ugh.”

“Oh please Ethan.” She pulled her wrist from his grasp and moved into the kitchen, depositing the now empty bowl in the sink before turning back toward him. “You’re bound to know that we talk about these kinds of things.”

“I know.” Sometimes he wished that they didn’t share such secrets though. It totally weirded him out some days that his fiancé and his ex-girlfriend were now best-friends. He silently prayed that they didn’t talk about him nearly as much as he feared they did. “It’s just… we haven’t told anyone.”

“Well, you’ve told me.” She crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned back against the counter, giving him a look that could kill. “And if you don’t tell your daughter by the end of the weekend, I will.”

“You wouldn’t?” He was shocked by her words. He couldn’t believe that she would do something like that.

“She deserves to know Ethan.” He knew that she was telling the truth. Ariel deserved to know everything. She deserved to know about the babies and the engagement and everything that was slowly starting to consume their lives. 

“It’s not like we’ve been keeping it from her on purpose.” He whispered, his eyes closing as he leaned back against the couch. They hadn’t intentionally kept things from the teen, things had just been, crazy. They had been dealing with the hearing and then with work and now the prospect of having two tiny humans around. They hadn’t even figured Ariel into the equation at all. And it made him feel like a horrible father.

“I know Ethan.” He felt Rox’s hands on his shoulders and he let out a sigh as he opened his eyes, locking them with hers as she stared down at him. “But she needs to know the truth.”

“We’ll tell her tomorrow.” He assumed that that was okay with Leanne. But either way, it had to happen. “That way she has the whole weekend to process everything.”

“You promise me?” She squeezed his shoulders as she raised an eyebrow at him. 

“I promise.” He whispered. And he meant it. They would talk to her. Tomorrow. After school. They had to. They had no choice at this point. If they didn’t, they were probably going to lose her. And that was the last thing that he wanted to happen.

——

Rox had escorted herself out the door not long after their conversation and he had sat and stared at the silent TV for a good thirty minutes before he dragged himself upstairs to shower. He had wanted to crawl into bed with Leanne but his heart told him that he needed to go check on his daughter first. So that’s exactly what he did.

She was curled up on her side facing the door and he could tell that she had been crying at some point. His heart broke in his chest at the sight of her. She looked so lost and so little and he couldn’t believe that he had been the cause of his little girl’s pain. Letting out a gentle sigh he moved into the room quietly, pulling the blanket up to her chin as he tucked her in softly. She let out a soft whimper and her eyes opened slightly, staring up at him as they adjusted to the dim light of the room.

“Daddy?” He could see the confusion in her eyes and it killed him that she didn’t expect for it to be him at her bedside in the middle of the night.

“Shhh. Just me baby.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, his hand settling on her shoulder as he sat down on the edge of the bed. “Go back to sleep.”

“Time is it?” She whispered, her hand reaching up to rub at her sleep filled eyes. He could tell that they were red and bloodshot and he felt his heart clench in his chest.

“Almost two.” He whispered as he reached up to smooth back some of her hair. “You should be sleeping.”

“Are you coming or going?” The fact that she even had to ask that question killed him. He wished that she never had to see him do either at such an unGodly hour.

“I got home about an hour ago.” He stopped his hand against her head and he watched as her eyes closed and she nodded her head. “I’m heading to bed.”

“‘Kay.” She mumbled out, snuggling against the pillows some more as she fought to keep her eyes open.

“Sleep love.” He leaned down and pressed another kiss against her head, letting his lips linger there as he whispered to her. “I’ll take you to school in the morning.”

“Promise?” She whispered her question back and when he locked his eyes with hers he could see the hope written all over them.

“Promise.” He squeezed her shoulder then, offering her a soft smile. “We can even stop for donuts if you want.”

She simply nodded her head at his statement, but he didn’t miss the small smile that came over her lips. He knew that donut runs before school were their thing and he was surely never going to give that up. Especially not when he knew how much she loved it.

“Love you daddy.” She whispered, her eyes fluttering closed once more as she settled onto her side.

“Love you too Angel.” He whispered in response, pressing another kiss to her hair before moving to stand. He watched her for another minute, making sure that she fell asleep peacefully. He hoped that his coming in to check on her had helped her heart as much as it had helped his.

——

The following morning he had gotten up early, despite not having crawled into bed with Leanne until almost 2:45am, and he had showered and gotten dressed all before waking the sleeping teen down the hall. She had acted completely shocked when he had shaken her awake gently, but then he reminded her about their donut date and she had smiled up at him brightly as she untangled herself from the sheets. She had been showered and dressed and downstairs in fifteen minutes flat and he couldn’t remember a time when she had been so excited to get up for school.

They had stopped at their favorite donut shop and eaten in relative silence, and while it wasn’t their normal morning chit chat, it wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable, rather, it was peaceful. He had dropped her off at school afterward with a wave and a smile and a promise that he would see her promptly at 2:30pm and that they would spend the next 48 hours together. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

After he left the school he had returned home only to find Leanne on her way into work and he had kissed her slowly in the kitchen when she tried to sneak past him without saying goodbye. He knew that she was going to be late, but dammit, he didn’t care. He had missed getting to kiss his fiancé like this. Campbell be damned, he was going to do his best to remind both of his girls just how much he loved them today.

Leanne had been reluctant at first, pushing at him and telling him to get lost. But then her bra had been pushed aside, and he had snuck his hand down the waistband of her scrub pants just as her phone had rung from it’s spot on the counter, and she had been helpless to stop him. He had huffed out that he didn’t give a damn what Campbell wanted and he had pushed her pants and underwear to the floor before hoisting her onto the counter. She had growled at him that he was going to be the one explaining to their boss why she was late, but then his pants had hit the floor and he was sliding into her with a soft moan, and she hadn’t said another word to him until they were both well over the edge. He knew that she was mad about being late for work, she was known for being punctual and all, but she had been smiling when she waved to him from the door, so he figured that he hadn’t done too much damage. He had stood on the porch and watched her leave and he felt his heart clench in his chest at the amount of love he had for her.

He had made his way upstairs after she left, pushing the door to his office open with his foot as he balanced a cup of coffee and his files from work in his hands. He hadn’t been working but an hour or so when he heard the front door open downstairs. He checked his watch and went through the mental checklist in his head of who it could possibly be. Rox had PT until eleven, so it couldn’t possibly be her. And Noa was supposed to work a few hours this morning, so not her either. Jesse wasn’t one to just let himself in, at least not when he knew Leanne wasn’t home, so he figured that it couldn’t be the man either. So that left one person and one person only.

“Ethan! You home?” He heard his father’s voice bellow from the bottom of the stairs and he couldn’t help but chuckle. It was just like his dad to let himself in.

“In the office dad!” He called back. 

He had gotten used to his father’s presence over the past two months, and while it still shocked him, he was actually quite thankful for it. The man had definitely made a turning point in his life and he was doing his best to spend more time with them all. He was helping them out with Ariel and he knew that he and Rox had stepped it up for Leanne the past few days while things had been really crazy. He had also started trying to get to know them better, and his standoffish attitude hadn’t been present since after their chat in his car over a month ago.

“I thought you had to work today.” He watched as the older man leaned against the doorframe, his eyes soft as he took a survey of the room.

“Told Campbell I needed some time off.” He offered him a smile with his words. Surely he would appreciate him ‘sticking it to the man’.

“Probably for the best.” His father’s words startled him. 

“Why’s that?” He asked softly, watching as the man moved into the office and took a seat across from him.

“Ariel needs you.” He was shocked to hear that. Had Ariel told everyone but him and Leanne just how badly she was hurting. “In fact, she needs both of you.”

“I know dad.” He let out a sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Rox told me.”

“Good.” He leaned back in his chair as he crossed his legs in front of him. “Than you know that she’s scared that she’s going to lose you guys?”

“Yes dad.” It’s not that he didn’t appreciate his father’s support, it was just that he knew that this was one of those times where his old ways was likely to make an appearance. “Leanne and I are going to talk to her tonight.”

“So you’re going to tell her about the baby?” He did a double take at his father’s question, but then it hit him, Rox was the only person, other than Jesse, who was made aware of the fact that they were expecting twins. “And the engagement?”

“Yes dad.” He leaned back in his chair just the same, a small sigh leaving his lips. “We’re going to tell her everything.”

“Good.” His father offered him a soft smile and he returned it. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Is everything okay?” He had sensed that something was off with the man the past couple of weeks, but he didn’t want to pry. In fact, in his family, that was probably the deadliest of sins.

“I’m moving to LA.” Ethan shook his head at his father’s words. He couldn’t believe it. His dad had always hated LA. Ever since he and Jack had moved here over five years ago he had done nothing but complain about it.

“Why?” He leaned forward then, his arms crossing themselves on the desk as he prepared himself for the worst. His father wasn’t one to make dramatic life changes for nothing. “What about Christine? And the kids?”

“Christine and I are…” His dad paused as he closed his eyes and then reopened them, a slow breath leaving his lips as he dropped his hands to his lap, “not together anymore.”

“So that’s why you’ve been out here?” He knew something was up. He hadn’t heard his dad mention his step-mother once since he had arrived. And he found it incredibly strange that she hadn’t bothered to visit in the almost six months that he had been here.

“I needed some space.” He let out a sigh as he shook his head. “Now that I’m here, I want to stay.”

“And she doesn’t want to move?” It was just like his dad to be stubborn about these kinds of things.

“No son, she doesn’t.” He could tell that there was something more. That there was something deeper. But he didn’t know if he should ask.

“There’s more isn’t there?” He braced himself for the backlash. Or for the bad news that his father was sick or something terrible had happened.

“She filed for divorce.” His response startled him. That was definitely more like something his father would do. Not sweet Christine. “My plane hadn’t even landed before she was in the lawyer’s office.”

“You’re kidding?” He hadn’t always been Christine’s biggest fan. Not when his mother’s body hadn’t even been lowered into the ground yet and she was already making regular appearances at their house. But he had grown to respect her, and hell, he even liked her. But this was totally not something he saw coming.

“Nope.” His father’s eyes betrayed his stoicism. He was always so strong, so stubborn and hardheaded, and yet he couldn’t seem to figure out why his sons were the same way. “I suspect...” He gripped his hands together in his lap as he leaned forward, “that there was someone else.”

“Ouch.” Ethan whispered. He and his father may not have had the best relationship, but damn, he surely didn’t want anyone to cheat on him. As much as he had hated his father’s relationship with Christine when he was still a teenager, he knew that his father had never laid an unfaithful finger on her. He had waited until his mother had died, of that he was 100% certain. “I’m sorry to hear that dad.”

“It is what is.” He let out a sigh before leaning back in the chair once more, a small smile coming over his face. “Gives me the perfect excuse to move back here. To be close to you and Leanne and Ariel. It worked out in the end. Besides, that grand baby of mine is going to need some major spoiling.”

“About that…” Ethan watched as his father’s eyes sunk and he knew that he was fearing the worst. Christine had suffered a miscarriage sometime between Claire and Nate and he remembered feeling horrible at the notion that his father was losing a part of himself. “We have some news.”

“Please dear God tell me everything’s okay?” He couldn’t help but chuckle at his father’s question.

“Everything is fine dad.” He said softly as he reached out to pull the ultrasound picture from its place on his desk. He had snagged one with a clear view of both twins and tucked it into the corner of a frame that housed a picture of him with Leanne and Ariel. It had only been a few days since he had found out about them, but he was so incredibly in love with them both already and he couldn’t help himself.

“So what then? You can’t possibly already know what you’re having?” He chuckled again before handing the picture to his dad and when the older man’s eyes went wide he let out a full blown laugh. “You’re shitting me?”

“Nope.” He leaned back in the chair as he wiped at the tears in his eyes. He had never seen his father’s face take on that feature before and it was killing him. 

“Twins?” His dad pulled the picture closer to his eyes, a wide smile breaking out on his face as he realized just what he was staring at.

“Twins.” Ethan replied softly. “You’re going to have double the grand babies to spoil.”

“Well I’ll be.” He reached out and handed Ethan the picture back and that’s when he noticed it. Tears. His father was crying. He couldn’t remember the last time his father cried. He didn’t even know if he ever had. Maybe when his children had been born? But even then, he didn’t remember seeing the man be vulnerable. “Congrats son.”

“Thanks dad.” He whispered as tears of his own formed in his eyes. 

“Now you really have to tell that girl of yours.” He said quietly, his eyes giving Ethan all the pep talk they needed.

“Yeah. I know.” He felt his heart clench in his chest. He knew they needed to tell Ariel. He knew that it was important. But he was so afraid of hurting her that he didn’t know if he could do it.

“Trust me son.” His dad reached out and patted his hand then, a soft smile coming over his face. “Take it from someone who’s spent a lot of time regretting that he kept his kids at arms length.” He squeezed his hand as he swallowed. “Don’t let this push you guys apart.”

“We won’t dad.” He turned his hand then, squeezing back as he let out a shaky breath. “We’re going to make things right.”

“Good.” He squeezed once more before pulling away, leaning back in his chair with a soft sigh. “You guys deserve to be happy. All of you.”

“Thanks dad.” He whispered. He had never heard his dad say such heartfelt words to him. Never in his 45 years of life had he ever felt like his dad truly loved him. Not until that moment. Not until right then and there. And he prayed that whatever road they were on was heading them in the right direction.


	4. Twins?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariel was thankful for the chance to finally talk to her parents about her problems. But she surely didn’t expect her problems to get so big.

Ariel had been thrilled when Ethan had dragged her out of bed bright and early that morning to get donuts before school. And she had been even more thrilled when he had kept his promise to pick her up from school that afternoon. She had climbed in the car with the biggest smile on her face and she felt her heart swell in her chest when he told her that Leanne was waiting for them at home and that they were going to spend the weekend together, just the three of them.

After showering and changing into more comfortable clothes she had made her way down the hall toward the master bedroom, stopping just outside the door and knocking softly. She knew that Leanne had laid down for a nap not long before they had gotten home, but she prayed that the woman was awake now so that she could talk to her.

“Come in honey.” She was surprised to hear Ethan’s voice coming from the room, but she pushed the door open slowly nonetheless.

“Hi sweetie.” Leanne’s voice was soft from it’s place on the bed and she noted that they both looked rather relaxed. She guessed that now was as good a time as any.

“Can we talk?” She whispered, her arms going to wrap around herself as she stepped into the room. She didn’t know why she was so nervous about this. It’s not like it was any secret that things had been rough for them all the past few days.

“Of course baby.” Leanne patted the spot next to her on the bed and she moved to sit down, a soft sniffle escaping her lips as she crossed her legs underneath of her. “Your dad and I actually wanted to talk to you about something. Something important.”

“Oh.” She let out a breath. She had a feeling her whole world was about to get completely rocked. “Okay.”

“Ariel, honey.” Ethan reached out then, his hand settling against her arm as he moved to sit down across from her.

“Are you guys having a baby?” She whispered her question as she closed her eyes shut tight. She knew how badly they wanted this. How badly they had been keeping it all in. 

“Yes.” Leanne’s simple reply sent shockwaves through her heart. She knew it had to be true, but she didn’t want to believe it.

“Okay.” She felt the tears pricking at her eyes and she let out a soft whimper when Ethan tried to pull her close.

“We’re having twins.” He whispered softly, his arm wrapping around her shoulders despite her attempts to push him away. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. There was noway they were expecting her to be okay with all of this.

“Wait! What?” She felt herself getting angry when the words finally set in. Twins?! More than one baby. She couldn’t believe them. How could they do this her? “How could you?”

“Honey…” Leanne reached out for her but she pushed her away, her eyes filling with more tears than she could handle. “It’s not like we planned this.”

“I…” She took a deep breath. She felt like her whole world was shattering around her. “I can’t believe you.”

Ethan let out a sigh from beside her and she pulled herself from his embrace with a groan. She hated this. She hated them and she hated these babies and she honestly didn’t care if they knew it.

“Angel, please…” He tried to reach for her again but she scrambled from her spot on the bed with a whimper. 

“No!” She screamed, her blood boiling in her veins. “You’re ruining everything. How could you do this?!”

She felt like her heart had been ripped from her chest. Like all the oxygen was slowly leaving her body. She watched as Leanne’s face fell and Ethan’s eyes filled with tears. She felt horrible for speaking to them like this, but she couldn’t believe that they would do this to her. Things had just started to settle down. They had just adopted her, she was finally home, wasn’t that enough for them?

“Ariel!” Ethan’s voice was loud and booming and she turned on her heel and stormed out the door before he could say anything more. She slammed their bedroom door shut behind her, her back falling against the door as a sob left her body. She hated them. She hated this house and this life and she just wanted to run away and never come back. Instead she stormed into her room, slamming her door shut behind her before throwing herself on her bed with a sob.

——

When she awoke a few hours later it was dark, and someone had come in and shut off her light and pulled her blanket over her body. She let out a shuttering sob at the thought. Even after she had yelled at them like that they still showed her such love and understanding. She didn’t get it. She didn’t deserve this and they didn’t deserve her. She got ready to push herself up out of the bed when she heard a gentle knock on the door.

“Ariel.” She heard Leanne’s soft voice from the hallway and she swallowed as she blinked back tears. “It’s mom. Can I come in?”

“What do you want?” She snapped, her arms going to pull the blanket up to her chin as the door opened slowly.

“To make sure you’re okay sweetie.” Her voice was gentle but she could see the torment in her eyes as she turned the small lamp on by the door.

“No I’m not okay.” She sat up in the bed then, her arms crossing over her chest angrily as she let out a huff. “What about this would lead you to believe that I’m okay?”

“Baby, we know what we told your earlier is a lot to take in.” She whispered, moving to sit next to her on the bed.

“A lot?! You told me you’re having two babies. Not just one, but two!” She shouted. She heard the bedroom door open down the hall and she suspected that Ethan would come swooping in at any minute to put her in her place. “I was only joking but it turns out that I was right. You guys are ruining everything. You finally got me and now you’re gonna get rid of me!”

“Ariel, baby, that’s not what’s gonna happen and you know it.” Leanne reached out for her but she shoved her away, moving from the bed as quick as she could. She made it into the hallway and halfway down the stairs before Leanne caught up to her. “Your father and I love you so much. We never wanna lose you.”

“You’re having these babies and I won’t matter anymore.” She whispered as she stopped in her spot in the middle of the staircase. She felt like she was going to throw up.

“Nonsense honey.” The older woman reached out for her once more but she stepped back, gripping the railing tightly when she almost lost her balance. “That’s not gonna happen.”

“Why would you do this?” She didn’t understand why they felt the need to ruin her life like this. After everything she had been through. Didn’t they know that this would destroy her?

“Ariel... you knew this was a possibility. We talked about this.” Yeah, they had talked about this. Once, briefly, for a split second. And then all talk had gone out the window. They hadn’t mentioned it again. She had no reason to believe that it would actually happen.

“But I didn’t think it would happen like this. This is too much. And it’s too fast!” She shouted, her eyes closing as she took a deep breath. “You guys aren’t even married! I can’t believe this! I hate this idea! I hate you guys!”

“Ariel, honey!” The look of pain on Leanne’s face made her sob even harder and she pulled her hands up to her face to cover up her eyes. “Don’t say things like that.”

“It’s not fair! I thought you wanted me! You just want to replace Eli and Caitlin! You don’t care about me at all!” She screamed as loud as she could, her whole body shaking at the force of her words. “What was I? Your filler child? Until you could get something better?! I hate you both!”

“Ariel...” She could practically see Leanne’s heart breaking in her chest and she felt horrible for doing this to her. And yet, she wanted her to feel even more horrible for what they were doing to her.

“Let me guess! This was all your idea!” She didn’t even know what they were fighting about at this point. She didn’t even know what specific point she was angry about. “Dad would never have gone for this!”

“Ariel please. We...” Leanne reached out for her with shaking hands and she physically pushed her away, letting out a growl as she tried to get away from her. 

“I can’t believe this. I want out! I don’t wanna live here anymore! I hate you and I hate dad and I hate these babies!” She had never screamed so loud in her entire life and she felt like her legs were going to give out from underneath of her. But then she saw him. Ethan. And he appeared at the top of the steps with a stern look on his face and his arms crossed over his chest. She had never once seen him so upset. Never.

“Ariel Jane that’s enough!” He shouted and the sound of her first and middle name leaving his lips made her shutter. “You apologize to your mother immediately!”

“I...” She knew there was no point in arguing with him. She would never win.

“Ariel. I’m not playing!” He moved down the stairs to stand behind Leanne, his hand going out to gently pull her to him. “What you said was unacceptable. Apologize. Now.”

“I’m sorry.” She whispered, her head falling forward as her tears fell faster.

“Now go to your room.” His words were so quiet that she barely heard them, but when she looked up he was pointing up the stairs. He had never seemed more like her father than in that instance and she hated it.

“But...” She didn’t want to go to her room. In all honesty she just wanted him to pull her into his arms and tell her that everything would be okay.

“Now, Ariel!” He shouted, his eyes darkening as Leanne let out a sob from beside him. 

“Okay.” She choked out, pushing her way past them both as she made her way back up the stairs.

She closed her door softly behind her before falling back against it and letting out a gut wrenching sob. She wrapped her arms around herself as she slid down the door and when she heard their raised voices she felt her heart break a little more in her chest. She hated it when they fought with each other. Almost as much as she hated fighting with them herself.

“This is all your fault Ethan! You did this!” She heard Leanne shout and she pressed her ear against the door. She knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but she had never heard Leanne so angry and she wanted to know what she had to say. “You wanted this pregnancy! I told you it was a bad idea! That she couldn’t handle this!”

“Don’t blame me. You wanted this too Lea.” Ethan on the other end, was calm, his voice still stern, yet gentle. She knew that he was trying to work on being civil with Leanne. She figured that maybe this was his attempt at doing just that.

“But I didn’t wanna push her away. This isn’t fair to her.” She was thankful that Leanne recognized that. “She doesn’t deserve this!”

“Well we don’t deserve to put our lives on hold just because she’s being a little sensitive.” She rolled her eyes at Ethan’s words. She wasn’t being a little sensitive. Her parents had just dropped the bombshell on her that they were having twins. She had every right to be upset about it.

“Ethan! That’s our daughter you’re talking about.” She felt her heart flutter in her chest. She still wasn’t used to hearing them refer to her as theirs.

“And she’s being ridiculous! We talked about this.” She huffed. They hadn’t talked about this. Not since that morning in the kitchen over a month ago.

“She’s scared of losing us Ethan.” Leanne’s voice was so soft that she barely heard it, but her words made her sob. She was so terrified of losing them, so much so that it haunted her. “Don’t you get that?”

“She’s not gonna lose us!” Finally Ethan broke, and he broke well. His voice was loud and she could hear the pain in is tone. “I don’t know how else to prove that to her!”

“Ethan...” Leanne was pleading with him and Ariel just wanted to make it stop.

“No! I’m done fighting about this. With both of you!” She wiped her hand over her eyes with another sob and she felt downright horrible. “We’re having these babies. There’s no going back on that now. And she’s not going anywhere, not back into foster care, not to another home, nowhere.” His words sent her heart into a panic. She knew that he loved her, but hearing him admit it like that, it tugged at her heartstrings in all the wrong ways. “She is ours and we are hers and in 5 months these babies will be ours too. And that’s final. That’s not changing.” She pushed herself to her feet and got ready to leave the room when his next words stopped her in her tracks. “Now I’m done. With both of you. Go to bed.”

And then she heard the front door slam shut and Leanne let out a soft sob from somewhere in the hallway and she felt her heart shatter. She had done this. She had caused all this pain to her parents and she couldn’t even fathom how to fix it. Letting out a shaky breath she slowly opened her door, peeking into the hallway for any sign of them.

“Mom?” She whispered softly. She saw the woman turn from her spot at the end of the hall and she wanted to pull her into her arms and hug her and never let her go.

“Go to bed sweetie.” She whispered back. Her hands rubbing at her eyes as she moved toward the bedroom.

“I’m sorry.” She felt like she was going to faint. She just wanted everything to go back to normal.

“I know.” Leanne said softly. “So am I.” And then she was shutting the bedroom door behind her and Ariel was left all alone in the hallway once more.


	5. Late Night Talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariel was finally willing to embrace being a big sister. And it certainly didn’t take her long to realize just how important that role really was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I’m sorry that this chapter is so short, and that it has taken so long to get it out there. I’ve been struggling a lot with personal issues and haven’t been feeling very supported so unfortunately my writing has taken a back burner in my life right now. I have a few more chapters already written out, but as of right now, I am probably going to be taking a small break from this story. I promise that I’m not done with it, it just might be a little longer between chapters from here on out.

Ariel had felt absolutely horrible after the fight she had had with her parents. She couldn’t believe that she had said the things that she had said. That she had told them that she hated them. That she hated the two tiny humans growing in Leanne’s stomach. She could never hate them, any of them, and she felt like the worst person ever for even suggesting that she did. 

She had crawled back into bed after Leanne had told her to go to sleep and she had laid there and cried for hours. She had heard Ethan come back into the house at some point, his boots heavy on the stairs as he made his way up them. She heard him pause outside her door before pushing it open slightly. She had wanted to turn around and tell him that she was sorry and that she loved him and that she took it all back. But she had forced her eyes shut tight and stayed facing the wall as he stood there staring at her. He backed out of the room a minute later, pulling the door shut behind him, and she heard him make his way down the hall.

She must have fallen asleep shortly after that because she didn’t remember hearing any more movement or discussion from the other end of the hallway. When she awoke a few hours later it was still dark and her room was cold, yet cozy. She let out a sigh as she moved to stand, stretching her arms above her head before heading into the hallway and to her bathroom. After leaving the small room she stopped in front of her parent’s door and hesitated. She wanted to crawl in bed with them and hold them both tight. But she didn’t know if they would want her there, if they would be willing to let her in after everything that she had said to them.

Turning the knob gently she was shocked to see that it was unlocked and she pushed the door open slowly. Her eyes scanned the room slowly, stopping immediately on the giant bed in the middle of the room. They were both asleep, or so it seemed, and Ethan had his arm wrapped securely around Leanne’s waist, his face buried against her neck. She was happy to see that they had seemed to at least make up some. She was worried that they would have continued to fight after Ethan’s outburst. 

“Mom? Dad?” She whispered softly. She hoped that she didn’t wake them up, but she wanted to be in their arms more than anything right now.

“Angel...” Ethan’s voice was quiet and she watched as he rolled from his side to his back, his eyes blinking back sleep as he tried to focus on her. “You okay?”

“Can I come lay with you guys?” She felt her breath hitch in her chest and she could feel her hands shaking as she stepped a little farther into the room. She knew that she shouldn’t be so wary of asking if she could lay with them, they had never told her ‘no’ before.

“Of course kid.” He untangled himself from Leanne slowly, scooting over to make room for her in between them. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t sleep.” That wasn’t entirely true. She had been asleep just fine, but she knew that she would surely struggle to get back to sleep if she tried to do so alone.

“Why not?” Ethan’s eyes were soft and he reached out for her when she made no move to join them.

“I feel bad.” She crawled into his arms then, wrapping hers tightly around his neck as she moved to settle next to him. She buried her face against his shoulder as she felt a wave of tears come to her eyes. “Horrible actually.”

“You getting sick love?” He pressed his hand to her forehead as he dropped a kiss to the top of her head. She heard Leanne stir beside her and she let out a soft sob when the woman snuggled against her, despite her eyes staying closed.

“Not that kind of bad.” She whispered. She hated feeling like this. She hated when they fought with each other.

“What’s wrong baby?” Leanne spoke up this time, her arms reaching out to wrap around her as she snuggled close.

“I’m sorry.” She choked out, her eyes closing as she tried to calm herself some. “For earlier.”

“Oh honey. It’s okay.” Leanne dropped a kiss against her shoulder as she opened her eyes, locking them with hers as she ran a hand over her hair. “We just want you to realize that you’re not going anywhere. And neither are we. We’re your parents and we love you. Babies or no babies. That’s not going to change.”

“I’m sorry for getting so mad.” She felt horrible for all the things that she had said and she just wanted them to know that. She wanted them to know how much she loved and needed them. They were her whole world and that she didn’t believe the things that she had told them. “I don’t hate you.”

“We know Angel.” Ethan dropped another kiss to her head as he hugged her tight, his words calm and gentle as he did his best to soothe her. “And we just want you to know that this isn’t a joke to us. We may not have planned these babies but they’re ours. And they’re yours. And we want to give them the best life possible. Just like we want to give to you.” She knew that they loved her, more than anything, and she never should have doubted that. Not for a second.   
“You’re our daughter Ariel. No matter what. Until the end of time. And these babies, boys, girls, or whatever. They are ours too. And we’re a family. That’s never going to change.”

“I know. I’m still sorry.” She let out a soft hiccup as she scrubbed at her eyes with her free hand. “Some of the things I said…”

“Ariel, it’s fine.” Leanne whispered, brushing her hair back from her face.

“No please. Let me finish.” She took a deep breath as she forced her eyes open. She glanced back and forth between them a few times before taking another deep breath. She was going to need all the courage she could muster. “I just… I’ve felt kind of alone these past few weeks, especially the past few days. And I know that you guys have a lot on your plate and that you’re stressed and I get that. But I feel like you’ve pushed me aside and I don’t like it. I don’t like feeling like this.” She hoped that she wasn’t hurting their feelings with what she was saying, because that certainly wasn’t her intention. She just wanted them to know how she really felt, how much she needed them, and how badly this was hurting her. “I love you guys and I want to be a part of your life. I want you to include me in these things. It hurts when you push me away.”

“We know baby. And we’re sorry.” Leanne pulled her close once more, pressing a kiss against her hair as she did her best to hold it together. She could see the older woman fighting off tears of her own and her heart broke at the thought. “We never meant for this to go like this. We were just overwhelmed after we found out. It’s all been a bit much.”

“But that stops now. Okay?” Ethan’s voice was soft as he spoke, but his eyes were firm and she knew that he meant business. “From here on out we need to work together. We have too. For us, and for these babies. They’re going to need us, all of us.”

“I know.” She whispered, sniffling a little as she snuggled closer to them both. “I promise I don’t hate them.”

“We know honey. We know it’s going to be hard, but they’re going to love you so much.” Leanne said gently. She knew that her little siblings would look up to her and she wanted to be a good example for them. “And they’re going to look up to you and worship the ground you walk on. We want you to be just as involved in this as we are.”

“I want that too.” She said softly.

“We love you honey.” Leanne whispered, her arm tightening around her shoulders as she dropped a kiss to her head. “Please don’t think that any of this changes that.”

“I don’t. I promise.” And she didn’t think it changed anything. She had been stupid to ever think that it did.

“You should try and sleep.” Ethan’s words were quiet as he tugged them both closer to him. “Both of you.”

“I have one more question though.” She didn’t know if she should ask it. She didn’t even know if they had thought about it. But she had to know. “Are you guys getting married?”

“We’ve thought about it.” Leanne whispered back. Ariel watched as her eyes connected with Ethan’s and a smile came over her face. 

“Thought about it how?” She was curious to know if ‘thought about’ and ‘talked about’ were the same thing.

“I asked your mom to marry me.” Ethan whispered, his hand reaching down to lift Leanne’s left one.

“Did you say ‘yes’?” She hadn’t seen a ring. In fact, there had been no sign of a shiny diamond anywhere. She couldn’t imagine that Ethan would propose without one. “Please tell me you said ‘yes’.”

“I did sweetie.” The smile on Leanne’s face said it all. She watched as she reached behind her, pulling the drawer open to her nightstand. She pulled out a black velvet box and opened it, removing the ring and sliding it on her ring finger before turning her attention toward her. “I said ‘yes’.”

“So when are you going to do it?” Ariel couldn’t help but grab her hand and pull it up in order to examine the shiny object. It was beautiful. More beautiful than Ariel could have imagined. She had so many questions that she wanted to ask but they were getting all jumbled up on her head. This was the best news ever. Her parents were finally going to get married. Just like they should have done a long time ago.

“We don’t know. We haven’t talked about that part yet.” She let out a sigh as she rolled her eyes at them both. Of course they hadn’t thought that far ahead. That was just like them. “We’ve been a little distracted with all this baby talk.”

“Well you should do it soon.” She piped in, her eyes glistening with tears as she shifted them back and forth from them both. “A summer wedding would be perfect.”

“We’ll see Angel.” Ethan’s voice held all the humor that she expected and she was thankful that he didn’t seem bothered by her input in the conversation. “But we promise, we’ll get your help when we’re ready to start making any decisions. Deal?”

“Deal.” She gently dropped Leanne’s hand then, snuggling back against them both with a gentle sigh. She finally felt like some sort of peace had been brought over them and she was incredibly glad that the tension from earlier had all but vanished.

“Goodnight girls.” Ethan whispered, his arms wrapping around them both tightly as he closed his eyes.

“Goodnight Ethan.” Leanne whispered back, her own body relaxing against the pillows as she closed her eyes as well.

“Night daddy.” Ariel couldn’t help but smile at the look that came over Ethan’s face. She would never get tired of getting to call him that. And she knew that he would never get tired of hearing it.


	6. Breakfast in Bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ethan and Ariel have a surprise for Leanne.

Ethan hated that he had been unable to sleep after Ariel had crawled into bed with him and Leanne that morning. He was exhausted, beyond exhausted in fact. And yet, every time he closed his eyes they would pop right back open again. He guessed that maybe the fact that his daughter had just poured her heart and soul out to them was causing a little bit of friction in his already over busy head. 

He also couldn’t stop thinking about how dramatically their lives were about to change. They weren’t just having one baby, no, they were having two babies. And while he knew that Leanne was healthy and doing well, he feared far more than he probably should have for her well being. He didn’t know the details of her pregnancy with Caitlin, but ever since Rox had brought it up it had been haunting him. He couldn’t bare the thought of losing her, or those babies, and he was having a difficult time wrapping his head around it all.

After realizing that sleep wasn’t going to overcome him, he had crawled from the bed and headed downstairs. He watched TV for an hour or two before shutting it off and trying again to close his eyes. But once more, he had no luck. Instead he had spent an hour playing solitaire on his phone while listening to the sound of the rain falling against the patio doors. He had contemplated going upstairs and trying to get some work done, but he had dropped that thought when he realized just how much he wanted to forget about Angels until Monday morning rolled around.

“Dad?” He heard Ariel’s voice before he saw her and he pushed himself into a sitting position as she rounded the corner into the den.

“Morning Angel.” He offered her a smile as she stopped behind the couch. She looked much more well rested than he was sure he did.

“Morning.” She whispered. He would never get over how young she still looked first thing in the morning.

“You sleep okay?” He hoped that she and Leanne had had better luck than he did falling asleep after their little chat.

“Yeah.” She wiped at her eyes once more before turning and heading into the kitchen. He watched as she opened the refrigerator door, pulling out the orange juice bottle and placing it on the counter. “You?”

“Not really.” He shrugged his shoulders when she shot him a look. He could tell that she was worried about him but he didn’t want her to be. He wanted her to relax and to take it easy. She was just a kid. She didn’t need to shoulder any of his burdens. “You want some breakfast?”

“Sure.” Her voice was soft as she grabbed a cup, pouring herself her orange juice without another word.

He let out a sigh as he pushed himself up from the couch, moving into the kitchen with the teen. He started to pull out the ingredients he needed to make her scrambled eggs and bacon, her favorite breakfast, when he noticed her staring at him. He always found it endearing when Leanne watched him cook. However, he found it odd that his fourteen year old was staring at him like that.

“Wanna help?” He knew that she liked to cook. In fact, she was often Leanne’s sous chef when they prepared dinner throughout the week. He, however, had never let her cook alongside him. Not for any particular reason either. She was fourteen, not four, it’s not like she didn’t know what the hell she was doing.

“Seriously?” Her eyes lit up as she stared back at him from her spot next to the fridge.

“Seriously.” He said softly, his eyes softening as a giant smile came over her face. 

He knew that his time with his little girl was fleeting. Especially his alone time with her. Once the twins got here he knew that it would be all about them, at least in the beginning. And while he was completely prepared to pull himself in three different directions for his kids, he didn’t know that Ariel was quite ready to give up on her time with him just yet. He made a silent promise to himself, and to her, that he would make sure that this could be one of their things. Like their donut dates or their rock music jam sessions in the car. Twins or not, he wasn’t going to give up the little things with his first born. Whether he had actually taken part in her creation or not.

“Of course!” She practically jumped from her spot and he couldn’t help but chuckle at her excitement.

They worked alongside each other in a comfortable silence and he let out a soft sigh when he heard Leanne start to move around upstairs. He was praying that she would stay in bed long enough for them to surprise her with breakfast. He knew that she was finally starting to feel better and that having a good meal to start her day off with would help keep her in good spirits.

“Can I ask you a question?” Ariel’s soft voice broke him from his thoughts and he turned toward her, his eyes wide at what she could possibly be questioning in that overthinking brain of hers.

“Sure kid.” He flipped the bacon gently as he waited for her to talk. She took a deep breath and he braced himself for the worst.

“Did you guys actually plan this?” He blinked his eyes at her question. Had they planned what? “I mean. I get that you can’t control that it’s twins. But did you guys, you know, did you try for this?”

He let out a breath at her question. He honestly didn’t know if Leanne was comfortable with this level of discussion, but once again, he would rather Ariel be open and honest with them, and them with her, than to learn things the hard way. He wasn’t entirely sure what her knowledge of the birds and bees was, nor did he want to know, but he figured her question was innocent enough that he could skirt around the major details.

“Let’s just say,” He paused as he turned toward her. She was staring back at him with curious eyes and he was thankful that she wasn’t silently judging him. Or that, at least, if she was, she was doing a damn good job of hiding it, “we didn’t prevent it. If that makes sense.”

“Oh. Okay.” She nodded her head then and turned back toward her pan, pushing at the eggs with her spatula. “Makes sense.”

“I know this is a lot for you kid.” He reached out with his left hand and patted her arm softly. “We didn’t do this to screw with you. Or to mess up your life. We want this.”

“It’s okay.” She whispered. He could see her eyes tearing up and he felt that deep, nagging sense of regret fill his chest again. “I get it.”

“Ariel.” He pulled the last of the bacon from the pan just as she dumped the last of the eggs onto a plate and he turned toward her once his hands were empty. “Please don’t think that we did this to hurt you.”

“I don’t.” She wouldn’t turn toward him and he felt horrible. He knew that she was struggling. In fact, he knew just exactly how she was struggling. He had been the exact same age as her when his half-sister had been born. And then he had been a senior in high school when his half-brother came along. He understood better than anyone how awkward this could be. How much this could hurt.

“We love you Angel.” He reached out and pulled her toward him, wrapping his arms around her shoulders tightly. “We will always love you. This doesn’t change that. It never will.”

“Okay.” He heard her whisper her words against his shoulder as she hugged him back, her arms wrapping tightly around his waist. “I love you too.”

“Now, what do you say we surprise your mom with breakfast in bed?” He pulled back so that he could look her in the eyes and when she offered him a smile he felt his heart melt. She would always be his little girl and he would always love her in a way he could never love his other children. She had made him a father. She had dragged him out of the darkest hole in his life. She was always going to be important to him. And he prayed that she never forgot that.

“She’s actually going to eat that?” Ariel raised an eyebrow at him and he couldn’t help but laugh. “What about morning sickness?”

“Seems that we have passed that unholy part of the pregnancy.” He was extremely thankful for that, and he knew that Leanne was too. She had pretty much stopped eating for a good three weeks and he had worried endlessly about her. “She hasn’t felt sick in a few weeks.”

“That’s good.” Ariel smiled at him softly and he turned his attention back toward the food. 

“You’re telling me.” He started dividing everything up onto three separate plates, smiling when she started to help him before grabbing utensils and napkins. “I was really starting to miss being able to drink coffee in her presence. Or eat cheese anywhere near her. It’s nice that she’s getting back to normal.”

“For now.” He could hear the sarcasm in her voice and he couldn’t help but laugh.

“For now.” He knew that things were going to get worse before they got better. He had done his research. He had read up on what to expect. And while he knew that every woman and every pregnancy was different, he was doing his best to prepare for the months to come.

They quietly made their way upstairs, him with two plates, her with one, and they paused outside the door. He listened for any signs of movement inside and he was thankful when heard the soft sounds of the TV. At least that meant she was awake. Ariel opened the door slowly, her head peeking around the corner as she waited a second to walk in.

“Hi mom.” She whispered and Ethan heard Leanne let out a chuckle as the teen pushed the door the rest of the way open.

“What are you two doing?” Leanne eyed them both softly, a smile on her face as she realized what they were holding in their hands.

“Bringing you breakfast in bed.” Ethan couldn’t help but offer her the biggest smile he could manage. He never in a million years thought that he would be lucky enough to bring his pregnant fiancé breakfast in bed. A breakfast that he had helped cook with his teenage daughter. He was the luckiest man alive and he would fight anyone who said otherwise.

“Why?” She raised an eyebrow as Ariel handed her a plate, then a napkin and fork, and he watched as the teen settled down next to her with a smile.

“Because we love you.” She whispered, her eyes softening as Leanne reached out and pushed some hair back behind her ear. 

“And we want to spoil you.” He handed Ariel her plate then and he moved to sit beside Leanne as he offered her a wink.

“Well that’s sweet of you,” The smile on her face couldn’t have been broken if they had tried, “both of you.”

They ate in a comfortable silence, save for the morning news playing in the background, and when everyone was done he had taken their plates and carried them back downstairs. When he returned a few minutes later he felt his heart clench in his chest at the sight in front of him. Leanne had settled back against the headboard, her legs stretched out in front of her, and Ariel had tucked herself against her side, her head resting on her shoulder. They were whispering about something, and while Ethan wanted nothing more than to interrupt, he gave them their moment. When they seemed to be done, both of them going silent as their eyes focused back on the cooking show Leanne had changed it too, he pushed his way back into the room, moving to sit on the edge of the bed as he eyed them both softly.

“Can I ask you guys a question?” Ariel’s soft voice broke through the silence and they both turned their attention toward her. “It might be kind of silly though.”

“Of course sweetie.” Leanne brushed some of the girl’s hair aside as she pushed herself back into a sitting position, her legs moving to cross in front of her as she eyed them with curious eyes. “What’s up?”

“Do you guys have pictures?” She whispered. “Of the babies I mean. From your doctor’s visit?”

“Yeah.” Ethan felt his heart swell at her question. He never imagined that she would ask to see them. He was certain that they were going to have to fight her on that end. “They’re in the office. I’ll go grab them.”

“You want to see them?” He heard Leanne ask as he made his way back down the hall, the small white envelop in his hands.

“Yeah. I feel bad, for what I said about them.” She let out a soft sniffle and he couldn’t help but move around to her side of the bed, pulling her into his arms as he dropped a kiss to her head. “I don’t hate them. At all. I love them, a lot. And I know that they won’t know who I am for a while but I still want to get to know them.”

“Oh Ariel.” He could see the tears in Leanne’s eyes and he reached out with his free hand to rub her leg. “They’re gonna know from day one that you’re their big sister. And they’re going to love you so much. Don’t you worry about that.”

“Here kid.” He reached down then, grabbing the envelop from it’s spot by his leg. He handed it to the teen with a smile and he couldn’t help but chuckle when she took it eagerly. “There’s a lot of them.”

“So there’s really two of them in there?” She asked after a minute of staring at the black and white images in front of her. He had looked at those pictures so many times over the last few days and yet he still couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe that they were going to have two babies.

“Really.” He said softly, squeezing her shoulders as she spoke.

“How does that even work?” Leanne let out a chuckle at her words and he guessed that maybe they hadn’t gone into that much detail about the birds and the bees.

“Well, your mom’s gonna be huge for one thing.” He honestly couldn’t wait for her to get an honest to God baby bump. He thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world now. He couldn’t wait to see how gorgeous she was with a round stomach.

“Not funny Ethan!” Although, he suspected, that maybe she wasn’t as excited about that thought as he was.

“Are they healthy?” Ariel’s question sent his heart into a panic. He prayed that they were healthy. Healthy beyond belief. He wanted his kids to be safe, and he wanted their mother to be safe as well.

“They’re small.” Leanne whispered as she reached out for one of the pictures. She pointed to the image of the two of them side by side in her stomach as she tried to explain to Ariel the best that she could. “Baby B, the one on the bottom, is a little smaller than the other. But their heartbeats were strong and I’m healthy, so they aren’t concerned.”

“They’re so tiny.” She whispered. He smiled at her when she lifted her eyes up to him.

“That they are.” He whispered back. And they were. Even though Leanne was nearly 17 weeks they were still measuring small. But he trusted the specialist at Leanne’s doctor’s office and he trusted that the woman knew what she was doing. 

“You don’t even look pregnant.” Leanne rolled her eyes at the teen’s words. Rox had said the same thing to her the other day and Ethan had laughed. She may not have looked pregnant with clothing on, but he had definitely noticed a little bump. An adorable little bump, but a bump nonetheless. “At least, not that pregnant.”

“Give it another month honey.” Ethan smiled when Leanne patted the teen’s leg with a soft chuckle. “Then it’ll definitely show.”

“What do you think it’s gonna be?” She pulled one of the pictures up so that she could look at it more closely, like she was trying to figure out just what was growing in there.

“One of each.” Leanne whispered with a smile. “That’s my hope anyway.”

“Dad?” Ariel turned her eyes toward him once more and he leaned down to drop a kiss to her forehead before answered get her question.

“Same.” And he prayed that it was one of each. A little girl with Leanne’s crazy curls and beautiful smile. A little boy with his gray eyes and determination. He hoped that they would be best-friends too. “But I’m thinking probably two girls. Lord knows I’d luck out in that department.”

“I think it’s one of each too.” She said softly, her head falling to his shoulder. “We need a little boy around here.”

“Thank you!” He knew that he was a little too excited about that fact, but he was thankful that someone other than him wanted a son for this family of his. “Finally someone who agrees with me.”

“Who else knows?” He could hear the slight hint of jealousy in the girl’s quiet voice. He knew that she should have been the first person they told. 

“Rox.” Leanne whispered as she settled a hand on the teen’s arm. “And your grandfather. And Jesse of course.”

“What do they say?” Ariel’s voice changed from angry to curious in a matter of seconds and he was glad that she was doing her best to roll with this.

“Rox says two girls.” He wasn’t the least bit shocked to learn that.

“Of course she does.” He groaned out. It would be just like Rox to damn him to tutu and princess hell for the rest of his life. “She wants me to suffer.”

“Jesse says two boys.” He wasn’t shocked by that statement either.

“Now that would just be unfair.” He couldn’t imagine twin boys. He didn’t want that kind of drama in his life. He and Jack had only been three years apart, and his step-brothers were only ten months apart. Both sets of them had been a holy terror on his dad and Christine growing up. Not that they hadn’t deserved the hell they had been put through sometimes.

“What about Grandpa?” He smiled at her question. He loved that she had started calling his dad Grandpa. And while it was definitely taking some getting used to, for all of them, it made his heart melt every time.

“He says one of each too.” Ethan whispered. His dad had shocked him when he had told him that. He didn’t think his father really cared much. But he was learning more and more that his father was just a little lost in it all. That he did want to care. That he did want to be a part of his life. Especially now that he had grandchildren on the way.

“I hope it’s a boy and a girl.” She whispered, a small smile coming over her face. “But I’ll love them either way.”

“Good.” Ethan smiled at Leanne’s response. “And they’re going to love you so much it’s going to make you sick.”

“Kind of like you guys?” She rolled her eyes when Leanne leaned forward and started trying to press kisses against her head.

“Worse than us.” He said softly, his arm tightening around her as he tugged her into his side.

“Ugh.” She tried to pull away from him but it didn’t last. Instead she settled against his side with a soft sigh. “Do you guys think I’m cut out for this?” She whispered softly, her eyes shifting from his face to hers.

“Cut out for what?” Leanne asked quietly, her hands settling against the girl’s cheeks as she eyed her softly.

“For being a big sister.” He almost didn’t hear her words but they brought tears to his eyes nonetheless. If there was anyone in this world who would be able to handle being a big sister it was Ariel. Of that he was certain.

“Of course you are honey.” He whispered, his lips pressing against her head as he spoke. “You’re gonna be the best big sister ever. And I can guarantee that they’re going to think the world of you.”

“It’s a little weird.” She whispered. He knew it was weird. Really, really weird. But he didn’t want that to stop her from embracing this.

“We know honey.” Leanne dropped her forehead against the teen’s with a soft sigh.

“I mean… I’ll be in college and they’ll still be in preschool.” He couldn’t help but chuckle at her words. He had been in her shoes once. He had signed up for the Army when his baby brother was only a few months old. He would never get over how awkward it had been it explain when he had moved into his bunk. Everyone on campus was convinced the kid was his for a good year and a half.

“It’ll be okay Angel.” He whispered. “Trust me. Personal experience. It won’t be as awkward as you think.”

“You promise?” He wished that he could tell her that it wouldn’t be awkward at all, but he didn’t want to make a habit of lying to her.

“We promise.” He dropped a kiss to her head as he hugged her tightly. “Once they’re here you’ll see honey. It’s going to be okay.”

“Do you have names picked out yet?” Her question once again shocked him and he lifted his eyes up to meet with Leanne’s.

“We haven’t even thought of that.” She whispered, her head pulling back from the teen’s as she took a breath. “We were waiting to see what we were having.”

“Makes sense.” Ariel didn’t seem phased by their response and he was thankful. Rox had been on his ass about names for the past two days and he had done everything in his power to convince the woman that they were not naming their children after her.

“Why? You have any suggestions?” He was curious to hear them if she did though. His dad had offered his input, and surprisingly, his options hadn’t sucked.

“No. Just curious.” She shrugged her shoulders as she smiled back at them. “I find it fascinating how people pick out their baby names.”

“Well, if you get any ideas, please let us know.” Lord knew it was probably going to be difficult enough if it was left just up to them. He had his favorites, but he didn’t want to step on Leanne’s toes when it came to such a thing.

“I will. I promise.” She whispered, a yawn escaping her lips as she snuggled closer to his side.

“We love you kid.” He whispered back, his head falling to rest on top of hers as he let out a soft sigh.

“I love you guys too.” He had never felt like she had spoken truer words in the entire time he had known her. 

He felt like she was finally coming around to the idea of these babies coming into their lives. And he prayed that things would slowly start to work out for them. He hoped that having their full attention on her for an entire weekend would do the trick and would help get her out of whatever funk she had fallen into. Because he missed the old Ariel and he wanted her back. And he knew that her siblings would much rather appreciate the old version as well.


	7. Baby Names

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leanne and Ethan pick the perfect names for their little ones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Again, I apologize for the delay in posting. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter because I had a lot of fun writing it!  
> **Also, I obviously took some creative liberties with names here, but I think it works perfect with who Ethan and Leanne are.

Leanne was nervous, in fact, she was beyond nervous. If there was even an emotion for that. Today was her twenty week ultrasound and while she was very well aware of the fact that she was having twins, she was still terrified every time she went to the doctor. She always feared the worst. Always expected for something to have gone wrong. And she had been driving Ethan and Ariel crazy with her fears the past few weeks.

After they had talked to Ariel about the twins she had definitely started to open up more. And they had both started spending more time with her. They had worked it out so that one of them was always there to take her to school and then bring her home. And Ethan had even taken the first week of her summer break off so that they could spend some time together as a family. The teen had been over the moon, as had she, and the three had enjoyed just relaxing together and being a family.

They had started to work on slowly moving the stuff out from Eli’s old room so that they could turn that into a nursery. It had been hard at first, to finally open the door to her baby boy’s room. To finally face those old memories for the first time in six years. But Ethan had held her hand through it all. He and Ariel had been troopers in fact, allowing her to move at her own pace with clearing the room. She had boxed up a few items to keep and Jack had been more than willing to store them at his place so that they were close by.

At first she had wanted to start painting the room, but Ethan suggested that they wait to see what they were having. She wanted to do all pink if it was two girls, he wanted all green if it was two boys. Ariel had settled on a soft gray and yellow theme if it was one of each. They hadn’t touched the room in three days because now they were just anxiously awaiting the results from today’s ultrasound. When she had asked Ethan that morning what he was hoping to see on the monitor he had simply told her that he wanted two babies. Two healthy babies. And that he didn’t much care about anything else.

“You about ready to go babe?” Ethan’s question startled her from her thoughts. She hadn’t been expecting the time to sneak up on them like this.

“Yeah.” She took a deep breath as she rose from her spot on the couch, eyeing him softly as he extended his hand toward her. “Where’s Ariel?”

They had been pleasantly surprised by Ariel’s desire to be involved, especially after the way she had reacted at first to the thought of having twin babies in the house. But she had come around, and boy had she done it quickly. She had asked a million and one questions of them since that morning, and they had answered just about every single one of them as best as possible. She had even started to point stuff out in the stores that she liked, things that she wanted to get them, that she thought they should have. 

“Getting her bag.” Ethan tugged her toward him softly, his arm going around her waist as he dropped a kiss to her head. “You look beautiful by the way.”

“I feel like a whale.” She huffed. And she did, feel like a whale that was. She hadn’t really started to show much until the last few days and she was hating how frumpy she felt lately. Ethan always reminded her how beautiful she was though, and she was thankful for his support.

“The most beautiful whale in the ocean then.” He offered her a smile as she rolled her eyes at him. 

“Thanks.” She pushed his arm gently as she stepped away from him, grabbing her bag off the counter as she heard Ariel come bounding down the steps. “Let’s go please.”

“Yes ma’am!” He shouted playfully from the den as she and Ariel headed toward the car.

She wanted to get this doctor’s appointment over and done with. She wanted to make sure her babies were okay and that they were healthy. She wanted to know if she would be bringing home two boys, two girls, or one of each in twenty weeks. But more than anything, she just wanted to see their little faces once more.

——

“Can you check again?” Ethan’s voice caused Leanne to chuckle. He had already made the poor technician check three times to ensure that she had gotten the gender right.

“Ethan, honey.” She reached out and patted his arm, smiling up at him as she tried to get his attention. “She’s checked three times. It isn’t going to change.”

“I just wanna make sure.” He whispered as he shifted his eyes from the monitor down to her. She could see the tears in his eyes and it made her heart flutter. 

“Daaaad.” Ariel’s voice startled her from her thoughts. The girl had been so quiet the entire time that she had forgotten that she was there. “It’s fine.”

“But…” He got ready to speak when the tech let out a soft chuckle.

“I assure you Colonel Willis, it hasn’t changed in the last five minutes.” The tech’s voice was soft and Leanne was thankful for her patience. She was sure that she probably saw stuff like this all the time. “There’s one boy and one girl. Simple as that.”

“Thank God.” He fell back into his chair with a huff and Leanne laughed as Ariel rolled her eyes at the man. He was such a drama king when he wanted to be. 

“See dad, I told you.” The teen’s words were soft as she patted him on the shoulder and Leanne couldn’t help it when her heart fluttered at the sight of tears in her eldest daughter’s eyes as well. “Grandpa’s gonna be thrilled.”

Leanne let out a soft chuckle at Ethan’s face. He was still in absolute shock, she could tell. She just hoped that he was happy that it was one of each. She sure was. She was glad that Ariel would have a little brother and a little sister to love on. That she and Ethan would have a son and a daughter to hug and kiss every day. She felt her heart swell as she let her eyes wander back toward the screen in front of her. Both of her babies laying there all sweet and peaceful. She couldn’t wait to meet them.

——

After leaving the doctor’s appointment the three of them had stopped off for dinner at their favorite diner and Ariel had barely been able to contain her excitement when Rox had slid into the booth next to her and demanded to know what was happening. Leanne hadn’t been able to contain her tears when Rox had started crying at the news of having a niece and a nephew to spoil rotten. She was pretty sure that even Ethan had shed a few tears as the woman had hugged them repeatedly as well.

They had headed home after dinner and while Ethan had wanted to drive to his dad’s place immediately and tell him the good news they had decided to wait until tomorrow like planned. Especially considering that Ariel was falling asleep in the back seat. Ethan chose that exact moment to point out that they were going to need a bigger car, that there was no way that they could cram a teenager between two car seats. 

She had tried not to get emotional at the prospect, but she hadn’t been able to hold back her tears. She remembered John saying that exact same thing when she had been pregnant with Caitlin. They had gone out and bought their mini van that following weekend. The mini van that was totaled in their accident. The accident that had taken away her babies, that had turned her entire world upside down. She had started to cry as she leaned her head against the window, but Ethan had simply squeezed her hand and whispered that he loved her. He must have known that she was going back to that dark place. She was appreciative that he didn’t push anymore.

She had showered as soon as they got home and she climbed into bed without another word. Ariel and Ethan had retreated to his office for a little while and she could hear them laughing softly about one thing or the other. She was thankful to have them both in her life and she knew that these two little ones were going to benefit gratefully from having such a loving father and sister. 

Ethan had climbed in bed with her about thirty minutes ago and he had simply laid there with her quietly, his fingers stroking through her hair while the other rested against her stomach. She would never get over how attached he was to her baby bump. John had always thought it was odd, and while he never came right out and said it, she had a feeling he was rather disgusted by it. She knew that that wasn’t uncommon, but she surely hadn’t been expecting it. Ethan on the other hand, couldn’t seem to get enough of it.

“Have you felt them move much yet?” His question was barely a whisper as he dragged his fingers lightly over her bare stomach.

“Not really.” She whispered back, opening her eyes for the first time in a few hours. She looked up at him only to see that his eyes were closed as well. “It worries me sometimes though.”

“I know babe.” He dropped a kiss against her nose as he opened his eyes, staring down at her as he offered her a smile. “But they’re okay. We saw that today. They’re fine.”

“She’s still real small Ethan.” When the doctor had confirmed with her that Baby B, her now daughter, was still smaller than they would have liked she had had a hard time holding back her tears. “What if something’s wrong with her?”

“I’m sure she’s fine.” He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers as he moved his arm to wrap around her waist. “Her heartbeat is right where it should be and everything is developing normally. She’s just little. It’s going to be okay.”

“I hope so.” She closed her eyes as she tucked herself against his chest. She wanted nothing more than for both of these babies to just be okay. “I already love them so much.”

“I know love.” He pressed a kiss against her hair as he held her tight. “I love them a lot too.”

They laid that way for a while, his hand slowly rubbing up and down her back as he tried to calm her. She could tell that he was feeling the stress too, he was just holding it back for her. She was both thankful, and regretful, for his massive support.

“What should we name them?” He asked softly.

“I don’t know.” She honestly hadn’t put much thought into it. She didn’t want to get her hopes up if it turned out to be the opposite of what she was planning for. “I hadn’t thought about it much.”

“Really?” His eyes were wide as he pulled back, eyeing her softly. “I can’t stop thinking about it.”

“Well what did you have in mind?” She asked quietly. She was curious to see what his suggestions were. She knew that Rox had pestered him endlessly about naming them after her and she knew that Jack had thrown out some suggestions, so had Jesse and Noa, but she wasn’t entirely sure what Ethan was thinking.

“Grace.” He smiled down at her, running his fingers along her cheek softly. “I think her name should be Grace.”

“Oh.” That was all she was capable of saying and she did her best to hold back her tears. She loved that name.

“It’s Noa’s middle name, and Rox’s, I think it’s fitting.” The look of love in his eyes at the prospect of naming her after two of the most important women in their lives was enough to make a grown man cry.

“That was Caitlin’s middle name too.” She whispered. She couldn’t hold back her tears any longer and when she let out a sob he pulled her against his chest.

“We don’t have to use it love.” He whispered against her hair. “I just thought it was appropriate.”

“No.” She pushed back from him gently, her eyes searching his out as she took a deep breath. “It is appropriate. I like it.”

“Are you sure?” She could tell that he was trying to be supportive even though he was probably feeling slightly let down.

“She should be named after her aunties. They’re the two strongest women we know.” She smiled up at him as she ran her fingers along the chain of his dog tags. “And she should be named after her sister. She should know who she is. Who they both are.”

“Good.” He dropped a kiss to her nose as he smiled back at her. “What about her middle name?”

“What was your mom’s name?” She knew that Ethan had a special connection with his mother. That the woman had meant the world to him and that losing her had been incredibly tough on him. He didn’t talk about her much, but she had noticed that he had started to open up about her a little, especially now that his dad was back around.

“Sophia.” He choked out, his eyes filling with tears. “Her name was Sophia. Sophia Ruth.”

“I like them both.” She whispered. And she did. Both names were beautiful. And both names fit well with Grace. “Grace Sophia or Grace Ruth? Which do you like better?”

“We don’t have to name her after mom.” He whispered, his hand moving up to wipe at his eyes.

“I want to Ethan.” She reached up and ran her fingers along his cheek as she spoke. She wanted to honor the woman who had raised such an incredible son. The woman who had given birth to the love of her life. To her best-friend. She wished more than anything that she could have known her. She would settle for this little dedication.

“Grace Sophia.” His voice was so soft that she barely heard it but she couldn’t help but smile at his words. She thought it was a beautiful name.

“Then Grace Sophia it is.” She watched as a giant smile came over his face and she couldn’t help but chuckle at the twinkle in his eyes.

“What about baby boy?” He asked softly. “He needs a name too.”

“One as perfect as hers.” She closed her eyes for a second. She didn’t know who to name her son after, there were so many wonderful choices. There was Ethan for one, not that she wanted a junior in the family, but his middle name had always been one of her favorites. And then there was his dad and brother of course. She thought that would be incredibly fitting, especially considering that his dad had been such a large part of their life the past few months. Then there was Jesse, or Mario, or Rollie, all of whom had been a wonderful presence in both their lives over the past years.

“What was your dad’s name?” Ethan’s question startled her. They had never talked about her parents. Not once. Not that she didn’t want to, she just never felt the need to, or the desire to. They had been special to her, but they had been gone for so long that she had sadly forgotten so much about them.

“Ezra.” She whispered back. She had always loved her father’s name and she had begged John to let her use that when they found out that Eli was going to be a boy. But he had made some stupid comment and then they had fought and they had settled on Eli before she knew what they were doing. She had loved her son, but she had never liked his name. “Ezra William.”

“I like Ezra.” His eyes were shining back at her as he offered her a smile. “Ezra and Grace. I think they’re beautiful together.”

“Seriously?” She hadn’t expected Ethan to be okay with her using that name. She guessed that maybe she needed to stop assuming that he was just like John. Because there was absolutely nothing about him that was similar to her late husband. And as much as she had once loved John, she was incredibly thankful for the contrast.

“Yeah.” He let out a soft chuckle. “I think it’s cute.”

“Well then his middle name should be Jack.” She thought it was only fitting that if he was named after one grandfather that he should named after the other too.

“Ezra Jack.” He said softly, his hand stilling against her hip as he closed his eyes and then reopened them. “I like it. I think dad will like it too.”

“Good.” She whispered as she settled her hand against his cheek, tugging him forward slowly so that she could press a kiss against his lips.

“We’ll have the same initials too. I kinda like that idea.” His words made her head spin. She hadn’t even thought of that. They would both be EJ. Eli had been an EJ too.

“Eli’s middle name was Joseph.” She choked out. That had been John’s middle name and he had insisted upon using it. She had once again given in and refused to fight. Naming children shouldn’t be a cause for divorce, but it had almost been one for them.

“Then he’ll have the same initials as his brother.” Ethan whispered as he leaned down to press a kiss against her forehead. “They’ll both have something special from their siblings in heaven. It’s very fitting.”

She wanted to respond but she wasn’t sure what to say, so instead she tucked herself back against his chest with a gentle sob. She was so excited for these babies to get here and now that they knew what they were having and that they finally had names, she just wanted them in her arms.

“Grace Sophia and Ezra Jack.” He whispered after a while of laying there holding her quietly. “They already sound like quite the troublesome duo.”

“That they do.” She let out a soft chuckle at his words and she couldn’t help but wrap her arms around him tightly. “I don’t wanna tell people.” She whispered against his neck. “I want it to be a surprise.”

“I like that idea.” He pressed a soft kiss against her neck. “We won’t tell then.”

She couldn’t help but smile then. There was something about keeping names a secret until after birth that she had always liked. Again, something that John hadn’t much cared for. She couldn’t wait to meet these precious little ones and give them their names and love them for the rest of their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Don’t forget to comment :)


	8. Quite the Scare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ethan and Leanne get the scare of a lifetime.

Ethan had been pleasantly surprised with the way things had been going lately. Leanne and the babies had been doing well. In fact, they had been doing better than well. And they had been extremely pleased when they found out two weeks ago that little Grace seemed to be starting to catch up to her brother in size. Leanne had been so thankful that she had started crying and she had beamed back at him with the biggest smile he had ever seen. He knew that she had secretly been worried about their daughter’s growth but she had been trying her best to hold it in. He had been doing exactly the same.

Ariel had been great too. She had been helping out around the house more and she had been super excited when they had told her that they wanted to start painting the nursery, and that she would get to help. She had excitedly started picking out baby clothes too. And Ethan had never been so willing to let the girl spend his money. She was getting ready to go back to school too, and he was thrilled to see that she was actually excited about the new school year.

He and Leanne had talked it over and made the decision to send her to a private school. Not something super fancy, but something better than the hell hole she had been in. She had told them over the summer how horrible the public high school she had been at had been and he had felt his heart break in his chest a little. He didn’t want her to suffer for another three years, she didn’t deserve that. Rather, they had done their research and found her a school that suited their needs. When Leanne had fussed about the cost his dad had stepped in and paid for the tuition in full, no questions asked.

He had been beyond thankful for his dad’s presence the last six weeks as well. He had officially moved back to LA, and, to Ethan’s surprise, just moved his stuff right on into Jack’s old place. He claimed that it just made sense. He wanted to finish the house like Jack wanted. And Ariel already had a room there, so it made it easier for him to help them out with her if they needed it. He had agreed to help his dad move, but instead he had gotten suckered into letting the man buy them an insane amount of furniture for the nursery. He had tried to tell his dad that he didn’t need to buy anyone’s love, but his dad had just huffed at him. He figured that maybe he was just trying to spend his money for good while he still could.

Rox had been hanging out around the house more often too and he was thrilled to know that Leanne had her support. While it still weirded him out slightly that they were so close, he appreciated that she wanted to help. She had also been super helpful with Ariel and he had been glad to see that the teen had been spending time with her. He knew that she didn’t have any friends, or at least none that they knew about, and he was glad that the girl had someone to spend her free time with that wasn’t one of them or his dad. 

Work had been crazy as well and he had been stretching himself thin the past few weeks trying to cover his shifts and Leanne’s. She hadn’t been working much, but he was trying to fill in in her place in order to help Campbell out. For what reason, he wasn’t entirely sure. He had been grateful to see Mario stepping up though, taking the attending position that was currently vacant with Leanne not being around as much. And Rox had taken to hanging out around the hospital more and more too. He was honestly shocked that Campbell had let her, but he seemed to be okay with the fact that she was there to simply lend a hand.

“Ethan!” He heard Rox’s voice before he saw her and he stopped loading the back of the ambulance to poke his head around the open back door. She sounded panicked and that worried him.

“What’s up?” He tossed his bag back into the rig before slamming the door shut and that’s when he noticed that she was sprinting toward him, her phone in her hand and her eyes wide.

“We’ve gotta go!” She barely stopped running before she yanked the driver’s side door open and jumped inside.

“We get a call?” He moved quickly toward the passenger side, climbing in with a huff as she took off before he could even buckle his belt.

“Yeah.” She turned out of the parking lot and turned the siren on as she slammed her foot on the gas.

“Jesus woman! Slow down!” He gripped his hand against the bar above his head as he turned his attention toward her. “Where are we going?”

“Angels.” She took another turn and he shook his head at her.

“We don’t have any patients Rox, slow down.” He didn’t understand what was going on.

“I will not slow down Ethan!” He must have missed something. Something had to be wrong. Rox didn’t yell at him like that for no reason.

“Rox?” He watched as she let out a huff as she tried to maneuver through traffic. “What the hell is going on?”

“That was Jesse.” She made another sharp turn, nearly taking out a mail truck as she went. “Something’s wrong with Leanne.”

“Fuck.” He felt his heart stop in his chest. Not Leanne, not his fiancé. Not the love of his life. He knew deep down that something was bound to happen. That these babies were going to give them a run for their money. But dammit he didn’t expect it to be so soon. “The babies?”

“She’s in distress.” He could see that Rox was trying to hold back her tears. “Your daughter. Something’s wrong.”

“Oh God.” He felt his lungs start to panic, his body gasping for air as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket. He had to call Ariel. He had to get her to hospital and he had to do it now. If something happened, God, he needed everything to be okay.

“Your dad’s already got Ariel.” She whispered as she turned onto the street that would lead them to their destination. “They were with Leanne when she collapsed.”

“Oh God.” He couldn’t wrap his mind around what was happening right now. He couldn’t get his brain to function. He just wanted everyone to be okay. He wanted Leanne to be okay and Gracie and Ezra. He just wanted to rewind to that morning when he had Leanne naked and quivering underneath of him as he made love to her for the fourth time that night. He didn’t want anything to be wrong. Not with her, and certainly not with his children.

“Jesse’s with her Ethan.” She reached over and took his shaking hand in hers. He had never been more thankful to have such a supportive friend. “She’s not alone. Everyone’s there.”

“But I’m not.” He choked out. He couldn’t believe this was happening. He needed to get to her and he needed to hold her hand and tell her that he loved her. “I’m not there and I should be.”

“We’ll be there in two minutes Ethan.” She squeezed his hand as she whipped the vehicle around a line of parked cars. “I promise.”

——

Rox’s stellar driving had had them at the hospital in no time and Ethan hadn’t even waited for her to stop the rig before he jumped from the vehicle. Angus had met him at the door and he escorted him inside and upstairs while he rambled off what he knew. Ethan hadn’t heard a word the kid had said to be honest, but he guessed by the look that he gave him that he understood that. He knew he was probably just talking to keep himself from breaking down. It was how he handled stress, and Ethan completely understood.

“Dad!” Ariel’s voice had been loud and shaky and he had practically run through the hallway toward her, gathering her in his arms as if she was going to disappear.

“Hey kid.” He pressed a kiss against her head as he held her close, burying his face against her hair. He loved her hugs more than anything in this world and right now, she was exactly the person he needed.

“I’m so scared.” She whispered against his shoulder. He could feel her tears soaking through his t-shirt and he just hugged her closer, one of his hands moving to cradle her head against his chest.

“I know baby.” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he felt her grip his t-shirt tightly. “Me too.”

“Is she going to be okay?” He could hear the fear in her voice and it broke his heart. He wished he knew the answer to that question. He wished he could promise her that everything would be just fine. “Will the babies be okay?”

“I don’t know Angel.” He pulled back from her then, dropping his forehead against hers as he moved his hands to her cheeks. “I don’t know.”

She let out another sob as she fell back against his chest and he wrapped her up tightly as he watched his dad move forward. He noticed Rox appear at his side and she patted his back, gesturing with her head for him to let her take the girl. He pulled back reluctantly, pressing a kiss to Ariel’s forehead before Rox stepped in, wrapping her in a tight hug as the girl hugged her tightly.

“Have you heard anything?” He followed his dad a few feet away from the crying teen and he couldn’t help but keep his eyes glued to her. She was his lifeline right now and he just wanted to make sure that she was okay.

“Not since they took her back.” His dad scrubbed at his eyes as he let out a breath. “Jesse’s with her though. And Noa.”

“Good.” He took a deep breath. He was grateful that their friends were there to support them endlessly. He knew that there wasn’t anything they wouldn’t do for them. “What happened?”

“We were in the grocery store.” He watched as his dad sank down into the chair behind him. “She said she was dizzy so I told Ariel to take her to the truck while I paid.” He knew that his father was beating himself up for this. He knew that look, it was a look he inherited. “Next thing I know they were paging me over the loud speaker. She collapsed in the parking lot. Ariel called 911 immediately.”

He had never been more proud of that girl than in that moment. He took a deep breath as he watched Rox pull away from the teen, offering her a soft smile as she brushed her hair back. Ariel nodded at whatever she said and then she pulled away from her completely and made her way toward them. He opened his arms back up and when she stepped into them and hugged him tightly he couldn’t help but let out a soft sob.

“I love you daddy.” She whispered against his shirt. He could tell that she was barely hanging on.

“I love you too Angel.” He pressed kiss after kiss against her head as he held her tight. He never wanted to let her go. Not when he needed her to keep him strong through this. Not when they needed to do this together.

——

Another few hours passed before Jesse emerged from behind the double doors and while Ethan knew that he was perfectly capable of pushing his way back there, he had refrained. His daughter had needed him and he knew that he would just be in the way. Jesse and Noa were perfectly capable of giving Leanne the best care she needed and he trusted them with her life, and his babies’ lives.

“How is she?” He wanted to stand but Ariel had fallen asleep with her head in his lap a little over an hour ago and he didn’t want to wake her. She had been crying since he had arrived and he knew that she was exhausted.

“She’s resting.” Jesse’s voice was soft and he could see that the man was struggling. Leanne was his best friend and he knew that this had to be hard on him as well. He had been there for her through the birth of both of her children. And he had been there for the death of them both as well. He could only imagine what seeing Leanne in so much pain was doing to him.

“Is she okay?” Rox’s question was quiet and he shifted his eyes to the woman who had just had her head on his shoulder. “Are the babies okay?”

“Leanne’s, tired.” The head nurse scrubbed his hand over his face with a sigh. “She’s in a lot of pain so we’re trying to keep her comfortable.”

“And the twins?” Ethan was nervous. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was wrong with his babies and he hated it.

“Your son is doing great. His heart rate barely flinched during everything.” He let out a breath of relief and he watched as his dad and Rox did the same. 

“And my daughter?” He felt Rox’s hand tighten around his as he held his breath. “Is she okay?”

“She’s…” Ethan didn’t know if he wanted to know the answer to that question. Clearly something was wrong with little Gracie and he couldn’t bare the thought of losing her. He was already so in love with her, with both of them, he didn’t know what he would do if something happened to either one of them. “She’s hanging in there.”

“But she’s okay?” He didn’t know what hanging in there meant, but as long as she was still holding on that was all he cared about.

“She’s touch and go.” He closed his eyes as he let his head fall forward, tears forming behind his eyelids. He felt his dad reach out and grip his other hand tightly just as Rox let her head fall back to his shoulder. He was suddenly very thankful that his teenager was fast asleep.

“Can I see Leanne?” He didn’t want to leave Ariel, but he needed to see his fiancé, the mother of his children. He needed to know that she was okay. 

“Yeah.” Jesse turned toward the door then and Ethan gently stood, releasing his dad and Rox’s hands. He watched as Rox slid over slowly, settling Ariel’s head in her lap instead.

“I’ll be back shortly.” He whispered, eyeing the trio softly. He had never been more thankful for his father and his best friend in his entire life.

“Take your time son.” His dad’s eyes were full of unshed tears and he knew that he was trying to be strong for him too. “We’ll stay with Ariel.”

“Thank you.” He couldn’t make his voice go any higher than a whisper and he swallowed as he took one last look at the sleeping teen. He hoped that she would be allowed to see her mother soon too. He knew that they both needed it.

——

Jesse had escorted him back to Leanne’s room without another word and when he arrived Noa was just stepping out. She informed him that Leanne was finally sleeping, but that it was probably best if he sat with her for a while. When he had asked about the twins she had simply stated that they were keeping an eye on them, but they didn’t know anything yet. He knew that while it was possible for them to both be delivered, that Noa would do everything in her power to keep that from happening until it was absolutely necessary.

He had settled himself into the chair beside’s Leanne bed after the other two had left and he took her hand in his as he closed his eyes. He had never been a praying man before, he never really saw the need for it, but now, now he was saying every prayer he could think of. He needed Leanne to be okay and he needed these babies to be okay. He pressed a kiss against Leanne’s knuckles as he reached out to gently touch her stomach. He hadn’t felt them kick nearly as much as Leanne said he should have, but in that moment he could have sworn that he felt four little feet kicking away. He wondered if he was losing his mind or if his babies knew just what he needed in that instance. He had laid his head down on the bed beside Leanne’s hip and closed his eyes, hoping that when he woke up things would be much better than they were now.

When he awoke a few hours later he could hear muffled voices outside the room and he felt Leanne’s hand squeeze his gently as he opened his eyes. He lifted his head to look up at her but her eyes were still closed and her breathing was still even. She must have just needed some extra reassuring in her sleep. Letting out a sigh he ran his free hand through his hair and let out a yawn. He couldn’t remember a time when he had ever been so tired. Turning his head toward the door as he heard the knob turn, he was surprised to see his dad appear on the other side.

“Hey son.” He whispered as he stepped inside slowly.

“Hey.” He let out another yawn as he shook his head back and forth. He could feel the past few months starting to catch up with him now that he was so emotionally and mentally exhausted as well. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah.” He stopped just inside the door and offered him a soft look before giving Leanne a quick once over. “Ariel wants to know if she can come in. She was scared to ask.”

“Of course.” He wanted his daughter with him more than anything right now and he hated that she was afraid to come back here on her own. She had never been afraid of this place before. He guessed maybe it was different when it was your mother laying in the hospital bed and not some stranger. Lord knows it was harder for him all those years ago.

“Rox ran her home so that she could shower.” He nodded his head in Leanne’s direction as he spoke. “They were gonna get some stuff for her too.”

“Okay.” He gently pulled his hand from Leanne’s and dropped his head down into his palms. This had to all just be a really bad nightmare.

“I’m gonna head to your place too. I’ll pack you a bag and send it with the girls.” Ethan lifted his head and turned his gaze toward the older man. He could see how tired he was, how emotionally and mentally exhausted he was, just like everyone else.

“Thanks dad.” He rose from his seat then and moved toward him. He was shocked when his dad pulled him into a hug, wrapping his arms around him tightly. He couldn’t remember the last time his father had hugged him, really hugged him.

“They’re going to be okay Ethan.” He whispered. “All of them.”

“God I hope so.” He whispered back. He felt another round of tears pricking at his eyes and he closed them as he hugged the man back. He was so beyond thankful for the support his family was offering him, and his girls, right now. He didn’t know what he would do without them.

“Try and rest.” His dad pulled back and squeezed his arms gently before turning back to the door and making his way back out into the hallway.

He simply nodded his head at his father’s words and he swallowed back a sob as he turned his attention back toward Leanne’s sleeping body. He could hear the sound of her heartbeat, slow and steady, her chest rising gently with each breath. The monitor that was on Ezra was beeping much the same, slow and steady. He was thankful that his son seemed to have his mother’s calming demeanor. His daughter on the other hand, well she was already giving him a run for his money. Her monitor didn’t beep quite as steadily as her brother’s, and it would hiccup every so often. He panicked when she would skip a beat, but then she would catch back up again, only to drop off once more. He hoped and prayed more than anything that after some rest she would even out and calm down like her brother. Something told him that that was never going to happen though.


	9. Waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leanne knew it was for the best that she wait as long as possible to meet her two precious babies, but after the scare they had given her, she was just ready to have them both in her arms.

The last thing Leanne remembered was Ariel asking her what kind of ice cream she wanted. And then everything from there on out had been a blur. She vaguely remembered riding in an ambulance and Jesse holding her hand and something about the babies being in distress. But most of it, most of it was all bits and pieces that didn’t make much sense at all. She guessed that maybe that was probably part of the reason why her head hurt so damn bad. That and she guessed that the oxygen she was being given had something to do with it.

She forced her eyes open slowly, taking in her surroundings, and she let out a sigh when she realized that she was in a hospital room. A hospital room at Angels. And she wasn’t alone. Ethan was sitting on her right side, her hand clutched tightly in his, his body slouched down in his seat. Ariel was also there, sitting on her left side, her head resting on the bed next to her hip. She could tell that they had both been crying and she instantly felt her heart stop in her chest. She hoped and prayed that nothing had happened to her babies.

Reaching out, she gently let her left hand land against the girl’s head, running her fingers gently through her still damp hair. She watched as she stirred a little, her eyes blinking lazily as she lifted her head. She couldn’t help but smile up at the girl when a similar smile quickly took over the girl’s face.

“Mom!” The girl reached forward then, doing her best to wrap her in a hug, and she couldn’t help but wrap her left arm around her tightly as Ariel’s head fell to her shoulder.

“Hi baby.” She pressed a gentle kiss against the girl’s blonde locks and she turned her head when she heard Ethan stir beside her.

“Leanne?” He squeezed her hand gently and she squeezed back, reassuring his still sleepy form that she was there with him. She watched as he opened his eyes, staring back at her with nothing but love, and she felt tears form in her eyes. “Oh thank God.”

She watched as he stood then, reaching out to gather them both in his arms, pressing kisses to both of their heads as he held them tight. She couldn’t help herself from letting out a sob as he buried his face against her neck, his tears hitting her skin as he sobbed softly. She instantly feared the worst.

“Ezra? Grace?” She could tell that she had most certainly not given birth, but she didn’t know if that meant that they were still alive and kicking or not.

“They’re okay.” It was Ariel who whispered those much needed words against her shoulder and she squeezed the girl tightly in her arms.

“Ethan?” She watched as they both pulled back, Ariel wiping at her tears with her shirt sleeve as Ethan scrubbed at his face with his palms. “Please Ethan. Tell me they’re okay.”

“Ezzie’s fine.” He took a deep breath as he let his nickname for their son slip from his lips. They still hadn’t told anyone their name choices, not even Ariel, but she guessed that cat was out of the bag at this point. 

“And Grace?” She prayed and prayed that her daughter was okay. She had been small from the start and Leanne had always feared that something bad would happen to her before she entered the world. “Is Gracie okay?”

“She’s struggling Lea.” She could tell that Ethan was barely holding on and she let out a sob as she reached her hand down to her stomach. Grace had always been the less active one. She had always figured she just didn’t feel her because she was so small. Now she guessed that maybe there was more going on with her than she realized. “Her heartbeat is irregular. They thought…” He took a deep breath as he dropped his hand on top of hers, resting it against her stomach as he tried to hold back his tears. “They thought they’d lost her for a minute there.”

“But she’s okay now?” She watched as Ariel moved around to the other side of the bed, wrapping her arms tightly around her father’s waist. Ethan wrapped his free arm around her, tucking her against his side with a kiss to her head.

“They’re keeping a close eye on her.” He squeezed her hand gently as he closed his eyes. “She’s not out of the woods yet. None of you are.”

She couldn’t help it as another sob took over her body and she wanted nothing more than to go home and curl up in bed with her fiancé and her daughter and have everything be just fine. Ariel must have sensed her need, because she pulled from Ethan’s grasp and moved to climb into the bed beside her. Ethan gently tucked them both in and she couldn’t help but wrap her free arm around her daughter’s trembling shoulders, her lips pressing a kiss to her temple as she hugged her close.

“You two get some sleep.” He whispered. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days and she knew that that part was probably incredibly true. “It’s late.”

“What about you?” She whispered back. Ariel had already settled into her side and was starting to doze off and she didn’t want to disturb her.

“I’m gonna see if I can find Noa. Find out what else we can do.” He offered her a soft smile and she did her best to return it. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Okay.” She felt a yawn escape her mouth and she snuggled closer to the girl, her eyes falling closed as she felt sleep start to take over. “I love you Ethan.”

“I love you too baby.” He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her head, his lips lingering there as he whispered to her. “I love all of you, so very, very much.”

He pressed another kiss to her head before moving to do the same to Ariel’s, a soft ‘I love you Angel’ leaving his lips as he brushed her hair back from her face. He stood up then and she heard him shuffle around the room before she heard the door open and shut quietly. She tried to reopen her eyes then but exhaustion won over and the next thing she knew she was falling asleep to the sound of two regular heart beats, and one beating a beat all of it’s own.

——

When Leanne awoke a few hours later there was a soft light filtering in through the blinds of her window. She was silently thankful for an outside room, the little bit of sunlight from outside doing wonders for her soul. She felt Ariel stir a little next to her, a soft sigh escaping her lips as she tried to settle herself back down. She pressed a kiss against the teen’s head, squeezing her shoulders gently as she offered her a soft hush. She couldn’t imagine how terrified the girl must be feeling right now. Probably almost as terrified as she was.

“Mom?” The girl’s voice was barely a whisper, and she felt her settle a gentle hand on her stomach. “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay baby.” She whispered back, her fingers dragging over the girl’s arm lightly. She was so incredibly grateful for a daughter with such a big heart.

“Are the babies okay?” She watched as Ariel blinked her eyes a few times before opening them fully, her gaze shifting upward toward the monitor.

“They seem much calmer than they were earlier.” And she wasn’t lying. Even Grace’s heart rate had slowly started to even out a little.

“Good.” The teen dropped her head back down to her shoulder and snuggled herself closer as she closed her eyes once more.

“How are you feeling sweetheart?” She knew that while this was hard on all of them, Ariel was the one least likely to know how to handle this kind of stress. Her and Ethan could put all of their focus and worry into her and the babies, and each other, but she didn’t have much of anything, or anyone, to fill that void.

“I’m okay.” Her voice was soft and Leanne could tell that she was trying not to cry. She didn’t want the girl to hold it all in though. She wanted her to be honest with herself, and with her, and just let it all out if she needed too.

“We can talk if you need to honey.” She pressed a kiss against her forehead and she felt the teen nod her head softly.

“Okay.” She whispered, her hand stilling itself right above where she knew little Gracie’s head was. 

Leanne had never doubted that Ariel would be a good big sister, never in a million years. Not even after she had screamed horrible things to them after finding out about her future siblings. She knew that she would love these two endlessly, even if she tried to act like she didn’t care. But she especially knew that she had already started to form a special bond with little Gracie, that she was already starting to love the idea of having a best-friend in her. Even with fifteen years between them.

“I guess your dad told you their names huh?” She was curious to know what the girl thought of their choices. They hadn’t told anyone what they had picked, and she was worried that they would receive blowback from some person or another. Not that it would change their minds, never in a million years.

“Not really.” Her voice was soft as she lifted her head a little, her eyes settling on hers as she offered her a soft smile. “I like what I heard though.”

“Good.” She offered her daughter a smile as she hugged her a little tighter.

“Grace and Ezra. I like those names.” Her smile reached her eyes and Leanne could see the excitement behind her dark orbs. “What are their middle names?”

“Grace Sophia and Ezra Jack.” Every time Leanne said their names she felt her heart skip a beat. She couldn’t wait to finally put faces to those names.

“They’re named after some pretty important people aren’t they?” She knew her daughter was smart, but damn did she catch on quick.

“Grace is for Rox and Noa, it’s their middle name. And Sophia was your grandmother’s name.” She couldn’t help the smile that came over her face at the mention of Ethan’s mother. He had slowly started opening up to her more after they decided to use her name for their daughter.

“Dad’s mom?” Her eyes twinkled in the low light of the room and she could see the slight pride in them. She knew that Ethan had shared more details of his mom with the girl than he had with her. And she was perfectly okay with. 

“Yeah.” She smiled at her softly and she saw the tears starting to return to her eyes. She just wanted them all to stop crying. Not unless they were happy tears because they were all going to be okay.

“Dad says I remind him of her.” She whispered. Ethan had never shared that tidbit of information with her but it made her heart swell. She always believed that everything happened for a reason, no matter what that reason might be or how hard it might to be accept it. She guessed that maybe Ariel coming into Ethan’s life had been a way for him to connect with the woman who had once been his everything. “Grandpa says it too.”

“I’m sure you do love.” She couldn’t help but press a kiss against her forehead once more. She felt more tears come to her eyes and she tried to blink them away. “From what I understand she was a strong, intelligent woman. Just like you.”

Ariel let out a soft sob as she snuggled closer, her head burying itself against her neck. She reached up then, tangling her fingers through the girl’s hair as she tried to soothe her. They stayed that way for a while, both crying softly to themselves. It was Ariel’s soft voice that broke through the silence of the room, her head pulling back once more so that she could lock eyes with her mother.

“What about Ezra Jack? Where did that come from?” She could see the anticipation in the teen’s eyes and she couldn’t help but offer a smile.

“Ezra was my father’s name.” She whispered softly. Her father had been a strong man, the strongest she had ever known. Until she met Ethan of course. And he had been her best-friend. He had been gone for almost eighteen years and she missed him every single day. She wished that he could have seen her life now, with Ethan and Ariel and these babies on the way. She hoped and prayed that she was making him proud.

“And Jack?” Their was a twinkle in Ariel’s eyes that told her that the girl knew exactly where that name came from.

“Your grandpa.” The smile that came across her face made Leanne’s heart skip a beat. She was thankful that Jack had stepped up and taken such a big role in their lives, especially in the teen’s. She knew that they had developed a special bond over the last few months and she prayed that the girl got plenty of time to get to know him. “And your uncle Jack.”

“Dad must be proud.” She whispered.

“He is baby.” She pressed another kiss to her hair and she sent a silent ‘thank you’ up above for bringing this amazing girl into her life. “He’s proud of all of you.”

“I just want everything to be okay.” She felt the girl snuggle closer once more and she hugged her as tight as she could.

“I know sweetheart.” And she did know, because that was all she wanted too. 

——

Ethan had reappeared at her side about an hour after her discussion with Ariel, and he had escorted the teen out into the hallway where they stayed for a good ten minutes. She heard them both head off in the direction of the elevator and when Rox appeared at her side a few minutes later she instantly started badgering her with questions. None of which Rox had an answer to. They had sat and chatted for a bit before she had started to doze off and the woman had declared that she needed to get back downstairs. Leanne was asleep before she had even made it the door.

When she awoke a little while later she wasn’t alone, and she was pleasantly surprised to see that her fiancé was sitting at her bedside once again. Reaching out, she gently ran her hand along his arm, causing him to stir from his nap. He offered her a soft smile as he leaned forward, reaching out to brush her hair back.

“Hi love.” He whispered as he cupped her cheek gently. She had missed him terribly and she would have given anything to have been able to curl up with him in bed right now.

“Hi.” She whispered back. She let her hand reach out to cup his cheek as well, her fingers brushing over his longer-than-normal stubble. She thought he looked both adorable, and ridiculous, with the extra growth on his face.

“How you feel?” He turned his head and pressed a kiss against her palm as he offered her a smile.

“Better.” And she truly was starting to feel more like herself. She wasn’t in nearly as much pain as she had been in before and she was thankful that the babies had both seemed to calm down some since yesterday afternoon.

“Good.” He leaned back in his chair and she watched as a yawn escaped his lips. She couldn’t imagine how exhausted he must be. Taking care of her and Ariel, on top of all the work he had been doing, she knew that he was running himself ragged. “How are the babies doing?”

“They seem better too.” She offered him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “They’re much calmer than they were yesterday.”

“Thank God.” He moved to sit next to her then, taking her hand gently between his as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“What’s wrong Ethan?” She knew something was up, that something must have happened earlier. That would explain his talk with Ariel in the hallway, and why neither one of them had returned to her while she was still awake.

“They’re putting you on bedrest Leanne.” She could live with that. A few days of doing absolutely nothing would be nice. She knew that Ethan and Ariel could take care of the house. And she knew that Rox and Jack would step in and help out with Ariel if need be.

“That’s fine Ethan.” She smiled back at him but she noticed that he didn’t return it.

“Until the babies get here.” His voice was so soft that she barely heard him but she felt her heart stop in her chest. “Their goal is to get you to at least 36 weeks, no less than 30.”

“But…” That meant she had anywhere from 5-10 weeks of laying in bed doing nothing. She couldn’t fathom spending that much time being lazy. “Ariel has school Ethan. We have jobs. We can’t just stop…”

“It’s the only way they’ll let you leave the hospital.” He whispered. She could see the tears forming in his eyes. She knew that he was struggling with the prospect of essentially having to parent their teenager alone, and run the house, alone. “If you don’t agree to take it easy and stay on complete bed rest, they’re keeping you here.”

“But…” She wanted to argue but she knew she couldn’t. She had been on bed rest for three weeks with Caitlin, she knew exactly what to expect and she knew just how important it was for these babies to do the same.

“Leanne please.” He squeezed her hand tightly as he pleaded with her. “Please. They need this. They need you to be okay. And Ariel and I need you to be okay.” He let out a soft sob and it was the first time that she had seen him break down in a long time. “We’ll make this work. We have to.”

“But how?” She swallowed as she felt a sob of her own form in her throat. She wanted to be home and with her family more than anything in this world. But she didn’t understand how they would get through this.

“Ariel and Rox are at the house now. They’re getting things cleaned up and trying to make it easier for you to get around.” He took a deep breath as he offered her a soft smile. “We’re gonna move our bed into the den so that you can be close to the kitchen and still have the bathroom nearby. Rox is gonna stay in our room and my dad’s gonna crash in the office.” She felt the tears starting to run down her cheeks at the prospect of having her best-friend and her future father-in-law living with them in order to help out. “That way there’s someone there to help you and someone there to help with Ariel, especially when I have to work.”

“They can’t…” She didn’t expect them to give up their lives just to be there for her.

“They are Leanne.” He squeezed her hand once more as he blinked back his own tears. “It’s already been settled.” He offered her another smile as he leaned down and pressed a kiss against her forehead. “Noa wants to keep you one more night, but tomorrow you’ll be home and we’ll have the house ready by then, I promise.”

“Ethan…” She felt herself starting to panic at the prospect of going home. Not because she didn’t want too, but because she realized just how close they could be to bringing home their babies. “We don’t have anything ready for them.”

“I know love.” He let out a soft breath as he threaded his fingers through hers. “Mario and Jesse are going to come over this weekend and help. And Noa too. We’re gonna get the nursery done and whatever other projects that we need to finish. My dad’s going Thursday to get the car seats from that place you liked and Rox is gonna take Ariel to pick out fabric so that Emo can make the sheets and curtains and all that other stuff you wanted.” His eyes started to fill with even more tears and she couldn’t help it when her eyes did the same. “We’re gonna make this work and we’re gonna have everything ready for them so that when they come home everything is perfect.”

“If…” She hated to say it. She didn’t want to be that person. She didn’t want to let her fear win out. “If Ethan.”

“When, Lea.” He dropped his head down then, pressing his forehead against hers as he squeezed her hand as tight as he could. “When they come home. Everything will be waiting for them and everything will be okay.”

“You promise?” She choked out, a sob wracking through her body as her free hand moved to rest on her stomach. She wanted them to stay in there as long as possible, to grow as much as they could and to be as ready as they could. But she wanted to meet them so badly that it hurt. Especially when she thought that she had lost them. Especially when she knew that she still could.

“I promise.” He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips then, his right hand moving to tangle in her curls as he held her close. She could tell that he was feeling just as much fear as she was and she hated it. She just wanted things to be okay. She wanted to go home and return to a normal life and she wanted to meet her twins and have them be happy and healthy. She just wanted everything to be okay. And she was tired of waiting for it to happen.


	10. Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ethan and Ariel have a bit of a heart-to-heart about Ethan’s past, and Ariel’s future.

Ethan knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Ariel was struggling. He could see it. And he knew that despite all the worry that she had for Leanne and the twins, that despite how much she was trying to pick up some of the slack and help out some, that she was having a hard time. She was quiet, distant almost, and she hadn’t been nearly as open and forthcoming with him has she had been in the weeks leading up to Leanne’s trip to the ER. He hated watching his oldest daughter struggle just as must as he hated watching his youngest daughter struggle, and he wanted nothing more than to make it right.

He knew that they needed to spend some time together, that she needed her father more now than she probably ever had, but he honestly didn’t know how to make that happen. He had been so busy, between work and taking care of Leanne and working on the nursery. He had barely had time for himself, much less time for the teen, and he knew that they were both hurting from it. He had watched her eyes grow sad every time he had to shut her down about something, and it broke his heart knowing that he couldn’t give her the love and support that she needed right now.

“Dad?” Ariel’s quiet voice broke him from his thoughts and he shifted his eyes toward her. He had been thankful when Leanne had settled in early for the night, choosing to go to bed shortly after they had eaten dinner. Rox had stayed with her for a little bit while he tried to get some work done in his office and his dad had taken to the shed, claiming to have some more work to do on whatever it was he was building out there. 

“Hey kiddo.” He had heard the teen retreat to her room not long after she had cleared the table and he had wanted to follow her. He was thinking of asking her to go out with him for a bit, maybe run some errands or get some ice-cream, just to do something together. But she had seemed over it and he guessed that maybe just wanted to be alone. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” She plopped down on the chair on the other side of the desk and offered him a sad smile. He could see her trying to hold it all together. He knew that she was hurting and it killed him.

“Wanna talk?” She shrugged her shoulders at his words and he knew that he was probably going to get attitude from her. He couldn’t blame her though, he completely understood every emotion going through her head right now. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes and he tried his best to refocus on his work, but he couldn’t. Not when he could see his little girl sitting right there in front of him looking more sad than he ever remembered seeing her. He hated that she was having to go through this.

“Wanna go for a drive?” Her head perked up at his question and he watched as a small shimmer of light came to her eyes. He knew that getting her out of there would do the trick.

“Really?” The anticipation in her voice made his heart swell. He was thankful that he could still get that kind of reaction out of her.

“Really.” He dropped his pen and pushed himself away from the desk slowly, standing and making his way to stop beside her chair.

“Just the two of us?” There were tears in her eyes as she looked up at him with such hope and he offered her a soft smile as he held his hand out toward her.

“Just the two of us.” He whispered. 

He watched as she jumped up from the chair and threw her arms around his waist. He couldn’t help but hug her back, and tightly, squeezing her waist as he dropped a kiss against her hair. He would never get over how much he loved this girl and he thanked God everyday for bringing her into his life. 

They broke from their hug a few minutes later and she bounded off down the hall to pull on a sweatshirt and some shoes. He had powered off everything in the office and made his way downstairs, praying that Leanne was getting some rest so that he wouldn’t feel guilty about leaving her. He let out a sigh of relief to see that she was fast asleep in their bed, the TV still playing in the background as Rox dozed in the chair against the far wall. He couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of them and when his dad appeared at the window he gestured toward them and rolled his eyes.

“They both asleep?” Jack, Sr.’s question was soft as he made his way inside and Ethan nodded his head at him. 

“Yeah.” He ran a hand through his hair as he heard Ariel make her way downstairs. “I’m gonna take the kid out for a bit. Maybe get some ice-cream or something.”

“Good.” His dad offered him a smile as he nodded in the direction of the teen. “I’ll be here. No worries.”

“Thanks dad.” And with that he turned, heading in the direction of his daughter, a huge smile breaking out on his face when he saw how truly excited she was. He hoped that she would always be this excited to spend time with him.

——

The pair had run by the hardware store and picked up a few things for the house before Ariel suggested that they stop at Target. She claimed she needed a few things for school, but Ethan knew that she just wanted to wander around. He knew that it helped clear her head, that she was like him in that respect. He was thankful that she was easily calmed sometimes, he prayed that her brother and sister would have that same attribute.

They had stopped and picked up the last few supplies that she needed before she wandered off in the direction of the baby section, and he had reluctantly followed. He hadn’t done a whole lot of shopping for baby stuff and he had left most of that to Leanne and Rox. It’s not that he didn’t want to buy stuff for the twins, he just figured that they would have a much better grasp on what was appropriate and necessary. He, on the other hand, was likely to buy them nothing but socks and hats, and nothing in between.

He watched as Ariel pursued the section, her eyes softening as she ran her fingers over a stuffed unicorn with pink feet and a glittered horn. He hadn’t remembered seeing anything of the sort in Gracie’s ever growing pile of stuff and he figured that her thought process was probably the same as his.

“Wanna get that for her?” He tried to keep his voice soft, not wanting to draw any attention to them from all the young soccer moms that seemed to be filling the section.

“Can we?” Her voice was barely a whisper and he could see the moisture in her eyes. He knew that she had been struggling since Leanne had been told that their younger daughter wasn’t doing so well. He had heard her crying about it to Rox one night, and as much as he had wanted to step in, he had refrained.

“If you want Angel.” He stopped behind her as she picked up the small stuffed animal and investigated it closely. She hugged it tight before turning toward him and placing it in the basket softly. It was almost as if she was afraid it would break.

“Can we get something for Ezzie too?” He knew that it drove Leanne insane that she had picked up on his nicknames for the twins already, but he thought it was endearing. He was glad that she was accepting them as theirs finally, as her siblings, as something that was a part of her life.

“We can get them whatever you want sweetheart.” And he meant it. He wasn’t concerned about the money, not in the least bit, and he was more than willing to buy the twins, and Ariel, whatever they wanted for as long as they lived.

“Mom won’t mind?” Her eyes were full of question and wonder and he offered her a gentle smile as he shook his head.

“Mom hasn’t exactly gotten to do much shopping.” He felt horrible about that too. He had tried to get her to shop online for stuff for them, but she said it wasn’t the same. And he knew that his dad and Rox had done plenty of shopping for things the twins needed. But he wasn’t entirely sure that they had gotten much of the cutesy stuff and had rather focused on what was necessary. “We can always return things if we have too.”

“So I can pick some stuff out?” He could see the hope in her eyes, the excitement at getting to finally be involved in something having to do with these new babies, and he couldn’t say ‘no’ to her if he tried.

“Pick out whatever you want kid.” He whispered before he leaned forward and dropped a kiss to her forehead. She beamed back up at him as he pulled away and she turned her attention back toward the display in front of her.

——

The two had spent a good hour in the baby section, pouring over every little thing they could find. He had walked away spending almost $200 on clothes alone, not to mention the accessories and play items that he and Ariel had picked out. He had texted Rox to let her know that she should probably warn Leanne that they were coming home with the mother lode, but the woman never responded. He figured that she was probably still asleep, much like his fiancé, and he had sent a warning text to his dad instead. 

After they had packed everything into the Jeep he had suggested ice-cream, to which the teen had happily agreed, and they had stopped at their favorite spot on the way back to the house. They had sat outside and eaten in relative silence before he had gotten the brave idea to suggest that they drive down to the beach for a bit. Ariel had stared back at him with wide eyes, but he reminded her that their days together were fleeting and that pretty soon she’d be back in school and there’d be no sneaking away for father/daughter shenanigans on a weeknight. She had agreed with a giant smile and he had felt his heart flutter at her excitement.

They had driven to the beach with nothing but the sounds of the radio filling the cab and when he parked at their usual spot he had sent his dad another quick text, letting him know they’d be a while longer. He watched as Ariel had dragged a blanket from the backseat and they had walked down to the shore quietly. They had settled onto the blanket, their eyes watching the waves meet the shore and then roll back out again, and he wondered if he should bring up the subject of the teen’s struggles or not.

“Did you and Grandpa use to do stuff like this?” Ariel whispered her question as she pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on top of them.

“No kid, we most certainly didn’t.” And he wasn’t lying. His dad had never once taken him for one-on-one time, and certainly never to someplace he actually liked.

“Did you guys do anything fun together?” He could hear the hesitation in her voice, the way she was almost afraid to bring up the subject. She knew that his relationship with his dad was a touchy topic and she always seemed to handle it with such care.

“I have one very clear, very fond memory with my father.” He whispered. “And that’s it.”

“Just one?” She turned her head toward him, her brown eyes shimmering in the light from the setting sun.

“Just one.” He hated that he only had one good memory of his father. But he was desperately hoping that he would be able to make new, good memories with the older man.

“What was it from?” He could tell that she was curious, that he had gotten her attention, and he was glad to see that she was interested in talking to him about something that could potentially be hard for them both.

“We went to Florida to visit some relative. I was probably, 7, Jack was about 4. We stayed in this little shitty motel in the middle of nowhere because my dad couldn’t stand my mom’s family.” In all honesty, he didn’t like his mother’s family very much either. He clearly remembered his grandmother being a soft and gentle woman, very quiet and sincere, much like his mother. But other than that, he didn’t remember anything good about any of them. “They fought the entire trip.”

“That doesn’t sound like fun.” It hadn’t been fun, in fact, it had been a nightmare. His parents had been at each other’s throats the entire time and he remembered wishing that he and Jack had been allowed to stay at home instead of being dragged along.

“Well I’m not done yet kid.” He offered her a soft nudge with his shoulder and she chuckled softly.

“So what happened?” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He really didn’t want to get emotional about something that was supposed to be happy and positive. And yet, every time he thought of this moment in time, his heart stopped. It was the one and only time his dad had ever done anything nice for him and Jack.

“My mom went off with her sister or cousin or something of the sort. But my dad stayed behind with me and Jack. I remember Jack crying. Saying he was bored. We had been sitting in that damn hotel room for three days with nothing to do.” He also remembered that part of the reason that his parents had fought the whole time was because Jack had been sick leading up to the trip and his dad had been hoping and praying that his mom would change her mind. She hadn’t, and instead, they had dragged a still stuffed up four year old on an eight hour car ride. 

“So my dad packed us up in the car and drove us down to Disney. He used his military connection, somehow got us in for free. I still don’t understand how.” He sometimes wondered if his dad had actually paid to get them in and had just lied to them to make it seem like less of a deal. It certainly wouldn’t have been the first time. 

“Anyway, we spent the entire day there. Riding the rides, eating junk food, he even bought us souvenirs. Tons of pointless little trinkets and stuffed animals. We watched the fireworks that night while we ate cotton candy and stayed up past our bed time.” It was probably the only time his father had ever allowed them to eat unhealthy stuff, or to stay up late. And he remembered that they both got the chance to watch the fireworks from his dad’s shoulders. That had certainly never been something that had ever happened before, and it certainly never happened again. 

“He snuck us back into the hotel room well after midnight. My mom started screaming at him but for once he just ignored her. Tucked us both into bed and then left. He came back a few days later when it was time for us to leave and it was like it never happened. When we got back home he took off again. My mom told us a few days later that she was sick. I always wondered if maybe my dad knew she was sick. If he knew that things were about to go to hell. If that’s why he did that. It didn’t make sense any other way.” He figured that his dad had probably suspected for quite some time that his mom’s health was on the decline. Hell, even he knew something was wrong with her. But she was a proud woman, a proud wife of a military man who had a lot to prove. She was probably protecting him just as much as she was protecting herself, and her children.

“I’m sorry that happened.” She whispered. He could see the hint of moisture in her eyes and he wondered if she had any memories like that of her father. He figured that she probably had to have much more than he did.

“It’s alright kid. Part of life I guess.” He shrugged his shoulders as his words. As a child, it had been tough to handle, but as an adult, he had moved on. He knew that not every home was happy, and that not every family was perfect. He had been lucky to have what little good he did, and he knew that. “I hope you have memories with your father. Your real father. Even if they’re small and they seem insignificant. When you get older, they’ll matter a lot more.”

“I do. A few of them anyway.” She closed her eyes as she turned her head back toward the ocean and he couldn’t help but reach over and run his fingers through her hair. She let out a sigh as she turned back toward him and he felt his heart break at the lost look in her eyes. “I really don’t remember much. It was all a blur, especially after my mom died.”

“Yeah. I get that.” And he did. Life after he had lost his mom had been a bit of a blur for a while. He didn’t really remember the first two years after her death. Other than his father’s almost instant marriage to Christine and the birth of his half-sister.

“I want us to make memories together though too.” She whispered.

“Same here kid.” And he did. He hated that he hadn’t gotten to know her until the later part of her childhood, that he had missed making memories with her as she grew up. But he was thankful that he had this time now. And he was thankful that they would both have memories like the ones from today to look back on later in life.

“I’m sure you have lots of fond memories of Uncle Jack though don’t you?” He loved the way her eyes sparkled at the mention of Jack. She reminded him of his brother sometimes, with her carefree attitude and gentleness. He wished that the two could have gotten to know each other.

“A ton.” He was thankful for that much. Even after his brother had passed, and things had been incredibly hard to handle, he had always had the memories to get him through it.

“You guys were close?” He nodded his head as he smiled down at her.

“As much of a pain in my ass as he was, he was still my baby brother.” And he had been a pain in his ass, from the day he was born and right until the day he had died. “He was my best-friend, up until the day he died. He was always the person I relied on the most. The person I trusted the most.”

“I wish I could have met him.” He could see the sincerity in her eyes and he knew that she wanted that just as much as he did.

“I wish you could have met him too.” He moved his arm around her shoulders then, tugging her against his side with a gentle sigh. “You guys would have gotten along great. He would have spoiled you too. He was that kind of guy.”

“Could you take me to meet him someday?” Her words were so quiet that he barely heard them but they made his heart stop in his chest.

“What do you mean?” He prayed that she wasn’t asking for what he thought she was asking for.

“To his grave?” But she was. She was asking to go to the one place he didn’t know if he could ever bare to visit again. “I mean, not if you don’t want to, I just… I’d like to see him.”

“If you want kid.” And yet, there was something about hearing his daughter ask about it that made him suddenly want to go visit the concrete block with his brother’s name engraved on it. “We could go.”

“When was the last time you went?” He took a deep breath at her question. He didn’t want to answer with the truth, he felt like a horrible person for it.

“His funeral.” He whispered.

“You haven’t been since then?” He knew that she wasn’t judging him, that she was sympathetic to his plight, and yet it still hurt him to say it out loud.

“Haven’t been able to bring myself to do it.” It had been hard enough to sit through the funeral. Hard enough to have his brother’s flag handed to him, to hear those twenty-one shots ringing out through the small cemetery just outside of town.

“What about Grandpa?” He closed his eyes at the mention of Jack, Sr.

“I doubt he’s been either.” And he wouldn’t be surprised if the man never stepped foot inside that place again. “I’m honestly surprised he came to the funeral. He wouldn’t even look at me during the entire thing.”

“Would he want to go with us?” He could hear the hope in his daughter’s voice though and he was slightly thankful that she still held on to some of that innocence of childhood.

“What? To his grave? I doubt it kid. That’s not really your Grandpa’s style.” Visiting the dead was certainly not something his father had ever shown any interest in doing. “He never once visited my mom after she died. We never got to go, not until I got my license and could drive us there myself.”

“Could I ask him?” He bet he’d have a harder time saying ‘no’ to the teen than he would to him though. There wasn’t much that man wouldn’t do for the girl.

“You can ask him all you want Angel. Just don’t be hurt if he says ‘no’ or if he gets upset.” He knew the girl would pretend not to be upset by it, but he knew that it would hurt her just the same. “Jack’s death is a touchy subject for him.”

“More so than with you?” Her question was quiet and he could hear the way she was hesitating to ask it. They hadn’t talked much about Jack’s death, and while she knew that his brother had taken his own life, they had never gone into detail about it. He didn’t think it was appropriate just yet, despite how mature she seemed on the outside.

“I can recognize my brother’s pain kid. I get it. I’ve been that low before, I’ve felt like there was no way out.” He hated admitting that to his teenage daughter, but he wanted to be honest with her about his past. He wanted her to know that he had struggled too, but that he had fought through it and he had overcome his demons. She and her mother were certainly to thank for that. “I wish he would have come to me instead of keeping it to himself. I wish he would have tried to get help instead of taking his own life. But it is what it is. I can’t undo it, no matter how much I wish I could.”

“But Grandpa?” He could see the fear in her eyes at her question. He knew that she wanted to think the most of the man. That she never wanted to see him as anything but the loving and caring guy that he had been for the past six months. But he hadn’t always been that way and he hated to be the one to break it to her.

“Your Grandpa sees what your Uncle Jack did as cowardly.” He figured that was the nicest way to put what his father thought of Jack taking his own life. “His generation of soldier, they just sucked it up. They pushed through it and they didn’t talk about and they certainly didn’t cry about it. It’s just how he was raised.” His father had done his best to raise him and Jack that way too, but they were more like their mother when it came to their feelings. They wore their hearts on their sleeves, something his dad had never approved of. “Not saying one way is better than the other, but he didn’t understand. He didn’t understand that Jack was hurting and that he eventually couldn’t handle that hurt anymore. He wanted him to suck it up, to be a good soldier and carry on.”

“But Uncle Jack couldn’t do that?” Ariel almost seemed heartbroken at the thought that a man that she never met had been hurting so bad. He knew that she was a compassionate kid, that her heart and soul were full of nothing but pure love. He hated that she had been broken by some of the things that had happened to her and he hoped that he and Leanne were on the right track to making her better.

“Jack had demons that were present long before he joined the Army kid. He was haunted by the things that happened between our parents.” It’s not that he wasn’t haunted by their relationship too. He just learned to live with it a little bit better than Jack did. “I tried to shield him, but he was always the more sensitive one. He took mom’s death hard, and he never quite recovered from it, even though he tried to act like things were fine.”

“And you?” She dropped her head to his shoulder as her eyes filled with tears and he couldn’t help but tuck her closer to his side.

“I was the big brother.” And that he was. And it was the proudest title he had ever had. Regardless of where his military career went, regardless of how well he did as a doctor, up until he became a father, being a brother had been the thing he had been most proud of. “It was my job to be strong.”

“But you didn’t want to be did you?” She was so much like his mother in the way that she just seemed to get him, and it killed him. He swore she was a gift, the daughter that he needed to save him, the one thing his mother knew he needed more than anything.

“Not all the time, no. I didn’t mind taking care of my mom. She was my mother, I loved her more than anything. And she would have moved heaven and Earth for Jack and I.” And he had been proud to take care of her, especially when she was still well enough to recognize it. She would thank him endlessly and he was always guaranteed extra snuggles and love when she was feeling up to it. “But I was still just a child. It wasn’t my job to provide her with the aide I sometimes had too. And as much as I loved Jack, and as much as I loved being his big brother, sometimes I got tired of having to also be his parent. Sometimes I wanted to be allowed to cry and wallow and throw fits because I was frustrated.”

“But you never did, did you?” She looked up at him with questionable eyes and he let out a soft chuckle. She knew that he wasn’t one to break down and lose control. She knew that it took a lot to throw him off course.

“Once. I threw a fit once. I was probably ten and I had the flu.” It was the first time he remembered ever being truly sick, and it was also the last. He wondered if his subconscious kept him healthy from there on it because the memory of that time haunted him so badly. “My dad was off doing whatever it was that he did while my mom was home with us. She had just been real sick too and she was just starting to get back on her feet. I had a fever of 103 and still walked Jack to and from school.” He also remembered that he had made Jack breakfast, packed his lunch, cooked him dinner. He had essentially been Mr. Mom, but for his dad, it was never enough. “I came home one day and dad was there, yelling at my mom about how messy my room was and how I hadn’t done any of my homework. She tried to explain to him that I was sick, but he wouldn’t have it. I started screaming at him and crying. Telling him that my head hurt and my back was sore and I just wanted to sleep. But instead I had been taking care of the house and getting Jack ready for school and tucking him into bed.” He would never forget how angry his dad had gotten. He thought for certain that that would be the time that he would finally break and that he’d finally slap him. But he never did. He never raised his hand, not once, and for that, Ethan had always been thankful. “I’ll never forget the rage on his face when I talked back to him. I thought he was gonna kill me.”

“What did he do?” He guessed that maybe Ariel was fearful of the same thing.

“He went into my room, took away every last thing that I had in there except for my school stuff and he threw it out.” He had cried himself to sleep that night and the only thing that got him through it had been when Jack had crawled into bed with him and offered to share his stuffed animals. He had said ‘no’ at first. That he was too big for such things. But half way through the night he had grabbed one of Jack’s bears from the top bunk and had held it tight while he shivered under the small blanket. He couldn’t remember a time when he had ever felt so sick, even now.

“Everything?” Her eyes were wide and he had to imagine that she was probably in shock that the man who would buy her whatever she wanted, and without hesitation, had once denied his own son his belongings.

“Everything. I had a blanket and one pillow and my book bag. That was it.” His dad had even taken away his baseball cards, for what reason he never understood. It’s not like he got any daily delight out of them. He figured that maybe he just wanted to deny him of anything that made him feel the least bit special. He remembered that his dad wouldn’t even let his mom tuck him in that night, that he had been denied a kiss and a hug because he ‘didn’t deserve them’. “I was up before the sun the next day and I walked to school in the rain so that I could make up all the work that I had missed. My teacher tried to send me home but I told her I couldn’t go home. She must have known something was wrong because she let me stay. Took me down to the cafeteria and bought me a bowl of cereal and an orange juice. She walked Jack and I home that afternoon to make sure we made it safe.”

“I can’t believe Grandpa would do something like that.” She sounded so hurt by what Ethan had told her and he hated that he had had to tell her those things. He didn’t want her to ever hate her grandfather, for any reason at all. Who his dad had been back then, and who he was now, were completely different people. “That doesn’t sound like him.”

“Like I said kid, his generation of soldier didn’t talk about the things that happened to them. They bottled them up, locked them away. They let them eat away at them for decades on end.” He always guessed that his father must have suffered from some sort of PTSD, be it from the war or his own childhood, he didn’t know. But he always wished that his father would have gotten help for it, even back then, even when he was too young to understand what was going on inside his father’s brain. He had always known that his father needed someone to talk too, that he needed a little extra help. He hated that he had always denied himself of those things. “It’s why so many families fell apart during the time. We certainly weren’t the only ones who lived that way.”

“It just… it doesn’t sound like him.” She let out a soft sigh as she snuggled closer to his side, her eyes closing as she wrapped her arms around his waist. “I mean, I know you guys still have a rough relationship, and he can be a little cranky sometimes, but he just seems so…”

“Different?” He understood completely. His father had made a complete turn around ever since he came back into his life. Ever since Ariel and Leanne had come around, and especially since the twins had come into the picture, he had been a completely different person.

“Yeah. Different.” It was both scary and comforting that she already knew the answer to his question.

“Sometimes when you lose things that mean a lot to you, you start to realize that you could lose so much more.” He definitely understood that feeling all too well. Losing his mother had made him terrified of losing Jack. And losing Jack had made him terrified of losing himself. And then when Leanne had come along, and then Ariel, and he had felt like the wind had been knocked out of him at the simple thought of losing them.

“You think that’s what he’s thinking?” Her brown eyes were soft and curious and he felt like he was staring at an image of his mother as a teenager. She reminded him of her so much that it hurt sometimes. “He lost Jack and now he’s afraid of losing you?”

“I think, just maybe, your Grandpa realizes what he missed out on with Jack and I when we were kids.” His dad had certainly told him as much lately. He had hated the way things had been between them and he hated that he had missed out on so much. He knew that his dad just wanted to right his wrongs with the next generation of Willis kids. “I think he realizes that maybe he can right those wrongs with you, and the twins. Maybe he can make up for some lost time, make some good memories with his grandkids since he didn’t make any with his own children.”

“What about his other kids?” He was shocked at her question. She never mentioned his step-siblings or his half-siblings before. In fact, he didn’t even really remember ever telling her about them.

“What do you mean?” He offered her a curious look, which she mirrored back to him as she spoke.

“Was he any different with his other kids?” Ethan thought that ‘different’ was an understatement. “Didn’t you say you had step-siblings and half-siblings? Was he just as distant with them?”

“No. Although he probably wasn’t winning any ‘father of the year’ awards either.” His father had always loved his half-siblings more, at least that was the impression he had always gotten. He had been there for Claire and Nate through everything. He was there for them when they were sick, when they started school, when they graduated. He had supported their relationships and their dreams and their goals. He had walked Claire down the aisle at her wedding, he had been there for the birth of their daughters. He had never expected his father to ever give him as much attention as he did them.

“So he just ignored you and Uncle Jack?” She seemed almost heart broken at the fact and he wondered if she was getting scared. If maybe she thought that he and Leanne would react the same way when the twins were born. He had been in her shoes before, he knew how that anticipation could eat away at you if you let it. “But cared about his other kids?”

“I think that he and Christine had a better relationship starting out than he and my mom did. I think that made a big difference.” His parents had always been at odds with each other. They had married out of convenience and because that’s just what you did back then. And then when he had come along his mother was in too deep to get out, even though he knew she secretly wanted too. His father’s relationship with Christine had always been different. “Especially when it came to Jack.”

“Why’s that?” Again, he got chills while looking down at her. She looked more and more like his mother, and Jack, with every passing day.

“Jack was just like my mom. Down to the eyes and their favorite things.” He had always been envious that Jack and his mom had shared so much. He had always been more like his dad. He looked like him, acted like him, thought like him. He had always thought it was a punishment, being different than his mom and Jack. “I think it pissed my dad off that when he looked at him, he saw my mom and who she used to be.”

“But why was he so mean to you?” He hated that his daughter had to refer to her grandfather as mean in regards to anything.

“Because I was just like him.” At least, that was what his mother always told him. She always said that he and his father fought constantly because they were two peas in a pod. He didn’t think that was a good enough excuse for some of the things his dad had put him through though. “He couldn’t stand that he finally met his match.”

“But you’re so nice and you care about everyone. You wouldn’t hurt a fly without a good reason.” Her words made him smile and he couldn’t help but tuck her against his side once more, his lips pressing a kiss against her head. “I don’t understand how he could dislike that.”

“There was once a time when my dad was the same way kid.” He remembered how his mom had told him about his father had once woed her, just like he tried to woe Leanne. How he used to buy her flowers and slow dance with her under the stars. He had had a hard time believing those things when he had been a child, but now, now he could see it. He could see how his dad had probably once been a charming young man, a dapper fella in a freshly pressed uniform. He knew that his mother had once loved him with every fiber of her being. There had to be a reason for that.

“Before he went to war?” Ariel got it, and it killed him.

“Bingo.” War changed people, and very rarely for the better. His dad had been hardened by it, turned to stone. Jack had been broken by, turned into a scared and anxious mess. He on the other hand, had been built up by it. He had found solace in war, something people always thought was weird. But the chaos had been something he needed, something he craved. It’s why working at Angels had been the perfect fit for him.

“Were he and your mom together then?” He loved that she wanted to know more about her grandmother, and her relationship with her grandfather. He enjoyed being able to tell her positive stories about them.

“They were. For a while. They dated for a few months before he left for the first tour.” They had been high school sweethearts according to his mom. Of course, his father had been much different back then. A football player with dreams of becoming something. But he couldn’t afford college and neither could she, so he joined the Army and she stayed at home and the rest was history. “She waited for him despite being a free spirit. She wanted to go to college and travel the world, maybe adopt a dog or two. But she never wanted to get married and she certainly never wanted to have kids.” When he was younger he had always had a hard time hearing that part, that his mother had never truly wanted him or Jack. But as he got older he realized what she meant. And now that he had Ariel, he truly understood. She had never expected to have children, she had planned a life without them, but that didn’t stop her from loving them with everything she had. “But that was what a good military wife did back then. They sat around and they waited.”

“Why didn’t she go do what she wanted?” Her question made him chuckle. She certainly had his mother’s spunk if she had anything. “Why wait around for a boy? That seems silly.”

“It was silly.” He had also never understood that part. If his mom had wanted to be free, why didn’t she just go be free? He never got why she stayed put and waited for his father. She must have really loved him. “But your Grandma had it rough growing up and I think she realized that the only way out of her parents house was to marry your Grandpa and be the doting military bride. That meant living in a house with a white picket fence and having 2.5 children and driving a mini van. It meant she’d probably never have a real job, and she’d certainly never travel the world, unless she was going where duty called her to.”

“But she loved you and Jack right?” She looked up at him with hopeful eyes that melted his heart. “I mean, she didn’t see you guys as a mistake did she? Or a reminder of something she didn’t want?”

“No kid, she definitely loved Jack and I, of that much we were always certain. She always said that I was her saving grace. That she was miserable until I came along. As much as she didn’t want me at first, as hard as the idea of having a child at 20 years old was, she said that she couldn’t help but love me from the start.” He and his mom had always been close because of that too. His dad had been away when he had been born, another reason he guessed that they weren’t close, and it had just been him and his mom for almost the whole first year of his life. He knew that she had cherished every minute of it too. “She wanted to give us a better life than she had. I think she felt guilty when she realized that my dad was just like her father. Haunted by the war and unfortunately, willing to take it out on his family instead of seeking help.”

“Your mom sounds like a strong woman.” She whispered her words and he could see the tears in her eyes. It broke his heart. He wished more than anything that his mom could have met her, he knew they would have been inseparable.

“She was the strongest.” He whispered his response as tears came to his own eyes. His mother had been the strongest person he had ever met. She fought so hard, for so long, even after she had no more fight left to give, and he had never been more proud of her. “You remind me of her you know?”

“So you keep saying.” She closed her eyes as she rubbed at her face with her hands. He knew that she was struggling with keeping it together and he wondered if she realized just how much she was like the older woman.

“Well you do. She was a free spirit too.” One of the first things that he had noticed about Ariel, and subsequently fell in love with, was her free spirit and boundless energy. He remembered when his mom had been like that, back when he and Jack had been little, before she had gotten sick. Watching Ariel dance around the house or experiment in the kitchen always made him remember his mom. She had had that same bubbly energy at one point. “She loved to talk about traveling the world, even when she knew that she’d never make it out of that shitty little house in North Carolina. She used to tell Jack and I stories about far away places. She would check books out of the library, especially after she got sick and had to stop working, and she would read to us for hours. Showing us pictures of the castles in Ireland and the Great Barrier Reef. She wanted to scuba dive and ride camels and have a whirlwind romance in some no-name city.”

“She sounds like my kind of girl.” Ariel snuggled against his side and he dropped another kiss to her head, he loved this girl just as much as he had loved his mother.

“She would have loved you.” He whispered against her hair. He was certain that his mother would have been smitten with the teen, and with Leanne as well. And she would certainly be over the moon about the twins being born. “Probably more than she had ever loved anyone else.”

“I doubt that. She sounds like she was pretty fond of you two.” He wondered if Ariel knew just how special she was, to all of them.

“She was. But she always wanted a daughter.” He had always felt bad that she had never gotten the chance to have one. After she had gotten sick she had been unable to have any more kids, and then she had passed long before he and Jack were able to give her grandchildren. He wondered if his mom was somewhere looking down on him and knew that he needed daughter just like she once had. “She would have been fine with a granddaughter too.”

“I wish I could have met her. We would have had a lot to talk about.” He imagined they would have given him a run for his money if they had ever been together too.

“That you would.” He offered her a soft smile when she looked up at him and he had to close his eyes to keep his tears at bay. This conversation was breaking him in places he didn’t know were still capable of feeling.

“What was the one place she wanted to go more than anywhere else?” Ariel’s interest in his mother’s interests made his heart flutter. She was so much like her that it was killing him.

“I would probably say Ireland.” He remembered how his mom would talk about going back there constantly. She wanted to take him and Jack there to meet their great-grandparents and it was always hard on her when his dad would constantly turn down the idea. He wondered if any of her family was still there, if any of them would even know who he was. “Her mom’s family was from there and she said that she always dreamed of going back and paying homage to her roots.”

“I love the idea of going to Ireland.” Her eyes sparkled at her words and it made his heart melt.

“It’s a beautiful place.” He vaguely remembered a night spent there, probably two decades ago at this point.

“You’ve been?” She looked jealous almost and he let out a soft chuckle at her question.

“I spent a night there while I was in the Army.” He and Jack had been together too if he remembered correctly. “I was honestly too drunk to remember any of what happened, but I remember that it was beautiful.”

“Could we go someday?” She looked so hopeful, so curious and wanting, and he knew instantly that he couldn’t say ‘no’ to such a question from his girl. “Me and you? And mom and the twins? Could we go as a family?”

“We could definitely make that happen one day kid.” He would make a mental note to bring it up to Leanne at a later date. After the twins were here and things had settled down. He knew that Leanne had always wanted to travel too and he bet that she would be just as thrilled at the idea.

“Do you have any pictures of your mom?” He swallowed at her question, his heart tightening in his chest. “Besides the one in your wallet that I see you stare at sometimes.”

“I’m sure there’s some in all those boxes I have in storage.” He didn’t have many though. He had always kept such a low profile, very few belongings, including pictures. It had made traveling so much easier when he had been in active duty. “Jack had a few in his house, I vaguely remember packing them away with his things after he died.”

“I’d love to see them if you did.” He wanted to tell her that all she had to do was stare in a mirror and she’d know just what his mother had once looked like. “And ones of Jack. And you. I bet you guys were cute kids.”

“We most certainly were not.” His mom had always commented on how adorable they were. How they could have passed for twins at times. He had never thought his mom made much sense when she said that.

“Lies.” Ariel chuckled at his words though and he was thankful that he could bring some light to the conversation.

“We were covered in mud 90% of the time.” They had definitely been a rowdy pair and there was rarely a time when they had looked like the presentable young men his father had wanted them to be.

“I bet you were still adorable.” She winked at him and he laughed, she was a mess.

“I’m sure my mom probably thought so. Dad, not so much.” His dad had always grumbled about their unruly appearance, but his mom had always done her best to remind him that they were children, and children got messy and that was okay.

“I hope Ezra looks like you.” He hoped that Ezra looked like Jack if anything. Than he would have some of his mother’s features as well.

“God help him if he does.” He couldn’t help but chuckle as he spoke. He knew that Leanne hoped the same thing.

“And I hope Gracie looks like mom.” He hoped that Gracie looked like just like Leanne too. With her dark eyes and curly brown hair, and that smile, that smile that got him every time.

“She’ll be beautiful, of that I am certain.” Either way, he knew that his daughter would be beautiful, and he would do everything in his power to make sure that she always thought so.

“I don’t know which of my parents I look like.” She let out a strangled sob as she spoke and it broke his heart. “I don’t even have any pictures of my mom. All of that stuff got boxed up and thrown out when my dad died. My aunt didn’t want any of it around.”

“You don’t have any on your phone?” He knew she had a few of her dad at least. He had seen her look at them from time to time.

“No. Just the few of me and dad. From right before the accident.” She closed her eyes as she buried her face against his shoulder. “My aunt threw all of his stuff out too.”

“I’m sure we could find some somewhere Angel.” He didn’t know how he would find them, but dammit he was determined to get his little girl those images. She should know everything there was to know about her birth parents, especially if she wanted too.

“I don’t know how. Everyone is dead.” Her voice cracked with her words and he pulled her closer, his arms wrapping around her tightly as he tried to comfort her some. “There’s nothing left of them.”

“You’re what’s left of them kid. And that’s the most important part. You hear me?” She was the only thing that mattered anymore, the only part of them that mattered. He hoped and prayed that she never lost sight of that. That she never lost sight of how important she was to the people who were still in her life. She was his and Leanne’s entire world. And he knew that the twins were going to grow up to love her unconditionally. His father adored her and spoiled her at every chance he got. And Rox and Noa and Mario were beyond smitten with her. Jesse was too. He hoped that she never forgot just how loved and cherished she was. Even if they weren’t her biological family, they were still there for her and they still loved her.

“I wish I had something to remember them by. I don’t have anything.” She sobbed into his shoulder as she clung to him and he felt another round of tears prick at his eyes. “Not even a piece of jewelry or a Polaroid. I have nothing. I don’t even remember them.”

“Well we’ll try and do something about that. I promise.” He couldn’t imagine having nothing to remember his parents by. Even if his relationship with his dad had been horrible up until six months ago, he still couldn’t imagine his life without him. And when it was his time to go, he would miss him. But he had pictures of his dad to remember him by, he had his trinkets and his watch and his old cigar box. He had his wedding band from when he was married to his mother. He had his mom’s old jewelry box, her engagement ring currently resting inside as Leanne’s fingers had swollen to the point that she couldn’t wear it anymore. He had her diaries and her old cross-stitches. He couldn’t imagine having nothing.

“I miss them.” She whispered after a few minutes of crying softly into his shirt and he dropped a kiss to her head once more.

“I know you do baby.” He knew it had to be hard. He missed his mom everyday, and he had been much older when he had lost her. He knew it had it to be hard on Ariel that she didn’t remember them.

“It’s not that I don’t love you and mom, because I do…” And he knew that she loved them, and so did Leanne. They would never question that. Not after everything they had been through together.

“I know kid. It’s hard.” He understood her plight completely and he wished he could just make it all better for her. “And I wish I could promise that it gets easier.”

“But it doesn’t?” She sounded so lost and it broke him.

“Not really.” He whispered. There were days were it still killed him that his mom was gone, that Jack was no longer by his side as well, but he had done his best to live with his pain and his grief and he was trying to move past it.

“I’m thankful that I have you guys though.” She looked up at him with a soft smile and he couldn’t help but smile back as he brushed some of her hair out of her face. “And Grandpa and Rox and Jesse. And I can’t wait to be a big sister. I really am happy here.”

“I know you are Angel. And we’re happy that you’re here with us.” He was so incredibly thankful for her and her presence in his life. He would have been completely lost without her by his side. Just like how he would be lost without her mother by his side too. “We love you, so very very much. And we just want what’s best for you. And I can promise you that your mom and I will stop at nothing to give you the best life possible. You hear me?” He wanted her to have everything that he never got the chance to have. He wanted her to see the world and go to college and be a carefree teenager. He wanted her to know that she was loved by both of her parents and that she had nothing but support from them both. “School, friends, family, whatever we have to do. We want you to be happy and taken care of, no matter what.”

“I love you dad.” She whispered as she tucked herself against his side.

“I love you to kiddo.” He whispered back, his arms tightening around her.

He knew that things were going to be hard for the next few months, and probably the next few years, but he prayed that his relationship with her remained just as it was now. He prayed that they could stay open with each other, and that they could lean on each other in times of need. He never wanted to lose that, no matter how many babies came into their lives or where they were going, he just wanted to always have his little girl, and he never wanted her to stop being just that.


	11. That’s What Family’s For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things don’t always go as planned, so that’s when family steps in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***I do apologize for the way these chapters have been going. For some reason my muse has gotten up and run away and taken this story with her. But alas, I want to at least finish this story since it’s so close to the end. There will be 2-3 chapters after this, but then, I’m not sure where it will go.**

Leanne had been incredibly thankful when Ethan had carried her upstairs earlier that day to allow her to assist in some of the nursery decorating. She had hated that she had been stuck downstairs, in bed, while the others slaved away on her children’s nursery. She hated being on bed rest more than anything else in the world and she felt completely useless. The past three weeks had been miserable and she was so tired of laying in bed and staring at the TV. So when Ethan had offered to carry her upstairs and let her ‘assist’ with things in the nursery, she had been quick to participate.

He and Rox had painted the small room the weekend before, and he had been working hard on doing the finishing touches so that they could start adding the furniture sooner rather than later. His dad had brought in the boxes for the cribs and she had been delighted when Jesse had delivered the worlds most comfortable rocking chair to their house the night before. Which is where she had spent the better half of her morning while she watched Ethan and his dad put together the large dresser she had picked out.

She had started to get sleepy around lunch time and had retreated to Ariel’s room for nap after they had all eaten. When she awoke a few hours later she could hear Ethan and his dad arguing from her spot down the hall and she couldn’t help but roll her eyes at them. As much as she loved having Jack, Sr. close by, he sometimes drove Ethan up a wall. Although, in reality, she kind of liked watching Ethan squirm a little every now and then.

“What are you two doing?” She knew she shouldn’t be up and moving around without any assistance, but she wanted to make sure that the two of them weren’t ready to kill each other.

“Putting together a crib.” Ethan’s reply was sarcastic and she shot him a glare. She didn’t know what had gotten into him lately but he had been quite an ass the past few days. She hoped that he was just tired and stressed out and not really angry at her for something. “What does it look like we’re doing?”

“It looks like you’re making a giant mess.” There was cardboard everywhere and the room looked like a small bomb had gone off in it. It had been so neat and tidy earlier when she had laid down and she didn’t understand how two grown men had managed to make such a disaster area out of the small room.

“Well yes, there is that.” Jack’s voice was rough and she could tell he was nearing the end of his patience. If Ethan had been treating him like he had been treating her though, she completely understood.

“Where are the instructions?” She tried to see if she could locate them somewhere in the room but she didn’t see any sign of them and that worried her. She wanted these cribs to be safe enough for the twins to sleep in.

“Willis men don’t need instructions.” She rolled her eyes at Jack’s words, it sounded exactly like something Ethan would say.

“Ethan…?” She cast her eyes in his direction but he avoided her gaze. She let out a sigh as she leaned back against the door frame.

“I tried to read them and he took them from me.” Ethan sighed out as he flopped back against the dresser, his eyes closing as he dropped his arms to his side. She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Ariel appear at her side. “He’s hiding them somewhere.”

“You do know you can look those up on your phone right?” The teen was pulling her phone from her back pocket before she could even comprehend what was happening. She loved that the kid was good with technology because right now it was probably going to save someone’s life.

“Don’t tell him that.” His dad’s tone was humorous despite the snappiness of his words.

“Seriously?” Ethan was pushing himself to his feet just as the teen extended her phone toward him and offered the girl a smile.

“Yep. Look, I’ve got them right here.” Leanne couldn’t help but smile at the girl’s resourcefulness.

“Hey now! I would have figured this out eventually.” Jack’s eyes sparkled as he quipped at the young girl but she just rolled her eyes at him.

“Yeah, when the twins are two and no longer need the cribs.” Ethan snapped back. She could tell that he was losing his patience and she hoped that he would walk away before he started a fight with his father over nothing.

“Well by then you’ll probably be knocked up with the next one.” He offered them both a smile and Leanne just rolled her eyes.

“No way. There is no next one.” She was certainly never going through this again. As much as she loved Ethan and as much as she already loved these twins, she wasn’t going through this shit again.

“Nope. Not happening.” Ethan was awfully quick to respond as well and even though she completely agreed with him a part of her was hurt at how angry he sounded about the whole thing.

“Party poopers.” Jack returned his attention to the board in front of him as Ethan continued to scroll through Ariel’s phone. 

“Tell that to your granddaughter.” He snapped. “It’s her fault we’re in this predicament in the first place.”

“She’s just being difficult.” Leanne whispered. “I can’t imagine where she gets that from.”

“Dad. She definitely gets it from dad.” Ariel’s tone was light and humorous but apparently Ethan didn’t find a word of what she said funny because he gently pushed the phone back into her hands before letting out a huff.

“Why is everyone ganging up on me tonight? What did I do?” He sounded incredibly hurt as he spoke and Leanne let her eyes shift in his direction.

“Nothing dear, you’re just an easy target.” She hoped that he understood that they were just joking with him, that no one was trying to hurt his feelings.

“Maybe I’ll just stop helping then.” But apparently he didn’t understand at all because then he was throwing his hands in the air and storming out of the room with a scowl on his face. “I’m gonna go get a beer.”

“Hey now!” Jack called after him. “Eeethan… we’re not done!”

She let out a sigh as she let her eyes follow him down the stairs. She felt Ariel’s hand on her shoulder and then the teen was gone, disappearing into Rox’s room at the end of the hall. She hoped that one of them would go talk to him, or even his dad, because she hated that he was being like this. She wished that he would talk to her.

—

Ethan had been pissed after Leanne, Ariel, and his dad had ganged up on him earlier. Part of him knew that they were kidding, that they didn’t mean a word of what they were saying, but another part of him felt very attacked. He had been feeling that way a lot lately, especially from Leanne, and he didn’t know if he was imagining it or not.

He knew that she was under a lot of pressure and that she was stressed out. He completely got it and he was doing his best to be understanding of her situation, but lately, lately he felt like she was coming at him over the stupidest things. He wished he knew how to get her to understand that this was all taking it’s toll on him too, that she wasn’t the only one suffering, but he didn’t know how to get through to her anymore.

“You okay?” He heard Rox’s voice before he saw her but when he looked up from his place behind his desk she was standing in the doorway with a concerned look on her face.

“Hm… yeah, I’m fine.” He really just wanted to be left alone right now. He had returned upstairs to the nursery to help his dad finish the cribs only to find that the man had straightened everything up and had finished up for the night. He had let out a sigh before going out in search of Leanne, but he hadn’t found her in Ariel’s room, so he had given up and retreated to his office instead.

“You know they were just joking right? Earlier? They were just messing with you.” Rox hadn’t been there to witness the whole thing, but he imagined that the others had probably had no problem filling her in.

“I know.” He let out a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. His head was pounding, in fact, his head had been pounding for a good three days now and nothing he did seemed to help. He knew that he needed to slow down, that he needed to take it easy and stop overworking himself. But he couldn’t, not when there was so much left to do. And knowing that the twins could literally be here any day now wasn’t helping the situation.

“Something’s on your mind?” She raised an eyebrow in his direction as she stepped into the room, pulling the door shut behind her. He both wanted her to stay and talk to him, and to leave him the hell alone, he wasn’t sure which side was winning in the current moment.

“Just… tired.” He closed his eyes as he felt the pain sink down deeper behind them. He knew that he should get to sleep but he had so much work left to do that he didn’t know if it would ever get done.

“I bet. You’ve been working nonstop this week.” She plopped herself down into the chair across from him and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m surprised Campbell’s even letting you.”

“He’s on vacation.” He was sure when the man returned on Monday from his trip to the beach with Emily that he would tear him a new one for working so many hours. And not because he couldn’t afford to pay him, but because he had told him to take it easy too. “What he doesn’t know, won’t hurt him.”

“Ah.” Rox didn’t seem to phased by the fact that he was sneaking around behind Will Campbell’s back, probably because she was famous for doing just that as well.

“Just trying to make a little extra money.” He blinked his eyes a few times as he tried to will his damn migraine away.

“You don’t need extra money, we both know that.” She offered him a pointed look and he let out a sigh. He hated that Rox always seemed to know when something was bothering him. He supposed that’s why she was his best-friend, because she understood him better than he understood himself, but dammit it was really annoying sometimes. “What’s really going on? Are you and Leanne okay? I haven’t seen you two hanging all over each other the past few days.”

“I think we’ve driven each other insane.” He honestly didn’t know what was going on between him and Leanne. He had been racking his mind for the past three weeks trying to figure it out. He just knew that something was wrong and it was killing him. “I don’t know… she’s stressed and tired and she’s in pain and I get it. She wants the babies to be healthy, but she wants them out of her so that she can feel better. And I understand. But I need her to calm down and relax. I don’t think she appreciates that very much.”

“What, being told to calm down and relax?” Rox’s face said it all and he let out another sigh.

“Yeah.” He knew that he was expecting a lot from Leanne, especially given she was already going enough work.

“She’s 30 weeks pregnant with twins Ethan.” Like he didn’t already know that. “She’s been on bedrest for almost a month now. She can’t go anywhere or do anything. She’s missing out on so much.”

“I know Rox!” He raised his voice and he regretted it the minute he was done screaming at her. Thankfully, she wasn’t phased by his outburst and instead she just raised an eyebrow at him. “Trust me, I know. And I hate it.” And he did know. He knew that she was tired and cranky and that she just wanted to get out of the house for bit. “She missed Ariel’s first day of school and she missed Meet the Teacher and Back to School Night. She’s missed work and going out with her friends. She misses going for walks and taking trips to grocery store. I get it okay. I know this isn’t easy for her. I would never in a million years say that it was.”

“But… I sense a very large but.” Dammit she was good.

“Buuuut… I’m struggling here too.” And he was, more than he wanted to admit to anyone. But he also knew that if there was anyone in this world that he could admit it to it was Rox. “I don’t want her to feel bad for me. I don’t want sympathy. She’s the one growing two tiny humans, one of which is giving her a run for her money. She’s doing the hard part. Her body is the one going through all the pain and all the changes. But I’m tired too.” And he was exhausted, downright overwhelmingly exhausted. “I’m tired of watching her suffer and be in pain. I’m tired of worrying constantly about my kids and if they’re going to be okay. Ariel included. I just want normal back. Or something close to it.”

“Nothing about life with twins is going to be normal Ethan.” He knew that normal was just a figure of speech at this point. Nothing about their lives together had been normal. Not since day one. And he knew that it certainly wasn’t going to be normal after Gracie and Ezzie arrived.

“No, but as long as they’re happy and healthy, and Leanne is happy and healthy, I don’t care about anything else.” And he didn’t care. He just wanted everyone to be happy and healthy. He would take chaos and craziness if it just meant that his fiancé would let him kiss her again. “I’ll take all the sleepless nights and diaper changes and ups and downs. I don’t care about the rest of that mess. I just want Leanne to be happy again.”

“You don’t think she’s happy Ethan?” Rox’s face fell and he swallowed as he did his best not to cry.

“I don’t think she’s much of anything other than miserable these days.” He choked out as the tears threatened to fall. It’s not that he didn’t mind crying in front of Rox, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time and it probably wouldn’t be the last, he was just so tired of trying to remain strong through all of this. “I feel bad, horrible actually. I did this to her. This was my idea. I wanted a baby, I wanted to try for this. And now? Now look at her, she’s miserable.” In fact, he thought that miserable was an understatement at this point. “I couldn’t tell you the last time she laughed or smiled at me. She won’t even let me sleep in the bed with her anymore. Everything I do pisses her off, even when I’m not trying.”

“Oh Ethan…” Rox leaned forward and grabbed a hold of his hand as she offered him a sad smile.

“I’m trying to be good to her. I’m trying to do whatever I can to help.” He did whatever he could to make things easier for her. He checked off every item on every Honey-Do-List she made him and then some. “I agreed to work on the nursery as much as possible. I’ve run every errand I can think of and then some. I take Ariel to school and pick her up. I make dinner and help her with her homework. I clean the house and do the laundry. I constantly ask her if she needs anything. I’d go to the ends of the Earth for her right now. I just don’t know what to do to make her not hate me so much.”

“She doesn’t hate you Ethan.” She sounded so certain of that that he almost believed her.

“How do you know?” He whispered his question as he closed his eyes against the tears.

“Because she doesn’t.” She squeezed his hand and he reopened his eyes, giving her a questioning look that he hoped would urge her to continue. “She’s tired and she’s scared. Getting those babies as far along as she can is her only concern. And I can’t say I blame her.”

“I don’t blame her Rox. I just… I wish she’d let me in.” They used to be able to talk about anything and everything and he just wanted that back. “She talks to you and my dad more than she talks to me. She barely even acknowledges my presence half the time. I just don’t know what to do anymore. The kids aren’t even here yet and I feel like she wants to leave me.”

“She’s never going to leave you Ethan. I promise.” He certainly expected to wake up some mornings and find her gone, or worse, to come home and find that she’d changed the locks on him.

“But…” He wanted to argue with her because he was so certain that it was bound to happen one day.

“No buts Ethan. She’s not going to leave you.” She offered him a stern look as she spoke and he knew that she meant business. “She loves you and she loves Ariel and she loves the twins. And she’s going to marry you one day and make every woman around the world jealous of her. You guys are in the home stretch now right? Didn’t her doctor say only a little while longer?”

“They won’t make her go past 38 weeks. So two months.” He was thankful that they weren’t forcing her to go to completely full term because he didn’t think she would make it. In all honesty, her doctor’s were just praying she made it to 36 months.

“Two more months Ethan. Two more months, at the most, before you get to hold those two little precious angels.” He couldn’t wait for that day, to finally have his babies in his arms. He loved them so much already and he just wanted to finally have them here. “It’ll be here before you know it. And when it gets here, Leanne is going to be so over the moon and so in love with you that she’s not going to know what to do.”

“You sound so certain of all of this.” He hoped that she was telling the truth, that she knew what she was talking about. He knew that Leanne confided in her for a lot, so he hoped that she had reliable information and that she wasn’t just talking for the sake of talking.

“She will Ethan. Just give it time.” She offered him a small smile and he couldn’t help but return it. “Just continue to be there for her and to love her and everything else will fall into place.”

“Thanks Rox. You’ve been such a blessing these past few weeks.” She had been more than a blessing actually and he didn’t know how he would ever repay her and his dad for everything that they had done for them the past few weeks. “I don’t know why you do it, but I’m thankful, we all are.”

“I know Ethan. That’s what family’s for though right?” He never thought in a million years that he would have a family to rely on actually, especially not one that included his dad, and his ex-girlfriend, but he was incredibly thankful for their presence in his life. “We support each other when things are tough? We get each other through the bad times and celebrate through the good times. That’s part of my job.”

“These babies are so lucky to have you in their life.” He whispered. He knew that she would love those kids with every bit of love she had to give and he was glad that she would be around to watch them grow up. He figured if Jack wasn’t here to be a part of all of this that Rox was just as good of a substitute.

“And they’re lucky to have you too Ethan.” She squeezed his hand once more as she offered him a big, hopeful smile. “You’re going to be a great dad.”

He hoped that those words were true, that he would be able to love these kids as much as they needed. He knew that it wouldn’t be easy, that a teenager was hard enough and that throwing in twin infants was going to make it that much harder, but he wouldn’t change things. He loved them all so much and the fact that he was going to be a father to them soon made his heart flutter in his chest.

—

Leanne had been confused by Ethan’s behavior earlier, especially after he had stormed out of the room and downstairs, but she had been unable to go after him. Instead she had gone into Rox’s room and the two had talked for a while. She had found herself confiding in the other woman about a lot lately and she was thankful for her presence, especially in times like this when she couldn’t exactly go to Ethan for help.

After they had chatted, she and Ariel had helped her back downstairs so that she could shower and get ready for bed. She had crawled into bed almost as soon as she was dressed and she had been trying to fall asleep for a good two hours. She didn’t know if it was the babies keeping her up, or her racing mind, but either way, she wasn’t going to be sleeping anytime soon. Deciding that it wasn’t worth the fight anymore she had pulled on Ethan’s hoodie and slid her feet into some slippers before heading out onto the front porch.

She had missed getting to sit on the porch swing and she was pleasantly surprised to find that the evening air was cool and relaxing. She hadn’t been outside other than to go to and from the car for her doctor’s appointments and she had missed the fresh air. She had just settled back against the swing when she heard movement downstairs. She prayed that it wasn’t Ethan because as much as she knew they needed to talk, she wasn’t quite in the mood right now.

“You know, the last time I checked, this wasn’t your bed.” Jack, Sr.’s voice was soft as he stopped just inside the screen door.

“I’m still resting though, so it counts.” She honestly just couldn’t stand to lay in that damn bed any longer and she figured that a little bit of exercise and some fresh air would probably do her and the twins some good.

“Says who?” He pushed the door open slowly, stepping out onto the porch as he offered her a soft smile. She knew that he was just looking out for her and she was thankful for that. The man had beyond amazing the past few weeks and she hadn’t been able to thank him enough for everything that he had done for them.

“The doctor in me.” She whispered. She hoped that he understood that she wasn’t looking for an argument. She hoped that he was in a better mood than his son had been the past few weeks.

“Guess I can’t argue with that.” He smiled at her as he moved to sit in the chair next to the swing.

“How’s the nursery coming along?” She hadn’t returned to the room after Ethan had stormed off so she had no idea how much more progress had been made, if any.

“Well, it no longer looks like a bomb went off in it. So there’s that.” She was thankful for that. She wanted to get in there and start decorating. Or rather, she wanted to get in there and let Rox and Ariel start decorating.

“I’m glad.” She returned his smile as she settled back against the swing and she let out a soft sigh. She wished Ethan was out here with her. It had been ages since they had sat on the porch swing together. She missed his arms around her while they swung back and forth in the darkness. She missed everything about him in fact.

“Ethan will have it all cleaned up and ready to be decorated by tomorrow afternoon. You have my word.” She knew that they hadn’t finished the cribs that night, but she figured that Jack would probably just do it himself if he needed too. She guessed that allowing Ethan to take credit for it was just his way of trying to help ease the tension between the two.

“Good.” She whispered.

They sat in silence for a while, the only sound coming from the crickets nearby. She watched as a flash of lightening struck through the sky a few miles away, but the thunder never came. She was both thankful and sorrowful about that.

“Thank you, Jack, for everything.” She whispered through the darkness. “You and Rox have been great these past few weeks. I don’t know what we would have done without you guys.”

“Ah, it’s no problem. Anything I can do to help.” She had never expected Jack to have stepped it up the way that he had, especially not given his past relationship with Ethan. But she figured that he was maybe trying to make up for lost time and she was thankful for that.

“I mean it. Ethan couldn’t have done this all on his own.” As much as she knew he would have liked too. He was certainly trying to do it all alone here lately and it was bugging her that he was stressing himself out so much. “I know he thinks he’s Superman, but sometimes I wish…”

“That he’d take a break?” Jack offered her a look that she knew all too well. He was just as worried about Ethan as she was.

“Yeah.” She felt tears pricking at her eyes at the simple thought. Ethan was working so hard and she knew that she hadn’t been appreciative of him, especially not lately.

“He doesn’t give himself enough credit. Nor does he give himself enough of a break.” He let out a sigh as he leaned back in his seat, his eyes going toward the roof of the porch. “He gets that from me.”

“He works so hard. I mean, I know he’s doing his best. I know he’s trying so hard to keep it together.” She hated that he had started shutting her out in return. She knew that he wanted her to see him as strong, that he didn’t want her to see his weakness, but she just wanted him to be okay. “I just wish that he would relax some. It would certainly make me feel better.”

“I know. I’ve tried telling him that.” The look he offered her was soft and she couldn’t help but smile through the tears. She was thankful that Jack had her back through all of this.

“He’s stubborn.” She whispered. More stubborn than she could ever have imagined in fact.

“I have no idea where he would have gotten that from…” He offered her a smile as she chuckled softly. He was so much like his father that it wasn’t even funny. And although she knew that he tried to deny it, there was no getting past it. They were just alike.

“There are certainly worse traits that a father could pass down to his son.” She knew that there were worse things that Ethan could be than stubborn and hard-headed. She certainly hoped that her children used those talents for good instead of evil, much like their father normally did.

“That there are.” He chuckled softly as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Of all the things that we have in common, that’s probably my least favorite.”

“I just… I want things to be okay.” She wanted things to be simple again. She wanted to be happy and in love with life again. As much as she loved the twins, she just wanted them here so that they could move on with their lives and find a new normal. “I want things to go back to normal.”

“You’re about to have twins my dear.” He shot her a pointed look and she rolled her eyes. “There is no part of your life that will ever be normal again.”

“I mean, with us. With me and Ethan. I miss him.” She wanted her Ethan back more than anything. They had been best-friends once and there had been a time when they had been so madly in love that they couldn’t keep their hands to themselves. And yet, look at them now, they were barely able to be in the same room together.

“He hasn’t gone anywhere.” Jack’s voice was quiet and soft but she knew that he understood what she meant. Ethan had changed for all of them the past few days and she had noticed that his relationships with everyone had started to falter, including Ariel.

“Sometimes… sometimes I feel like he has. I feel like I’ve lost him.” She felt like he was already gone, like he had already checked out on them. She felt like he was simply here no because he felt obligated. “I know that I’ve been pushing him away and that’s not my intention, it’s just…”

“It’s hard. I get it. I’ve survived four pregnancies, to two different women. Trust me, I understand.” She sometimes forgot that Jack had been through this before. That he knew what it was like to feel separated from his family. “It’s hard to stay connected. Especially when you have other kids to worry about. Or jobs, or friends, or any other kind of priorities. It’s normal to feel some sort of separation Leanne.”

“I feel like he regrets this.” She sobbed out. She didn’t want him to of course, because she certainly didn’t. She loved him so much that it hurt and she loved Ariel and the twins and the life that they had started to build together. But she felt like he wanted out.

“Regrets what?” Jack pushed himself up in the chair and toward her when he noticed her tears and she moved over to allow him sit next to her.

“Knocking me up. Asking me to be his wife. Taking on Ariel full time.” It had all happened so fast too. She could only imagine that he was probably terrified of how fast things had been changing. “I feel like he regrets that we moved so fast. I mean, he’s always just been on his own. He’s never had any kind of responsibilities save for himself and the Army. And now, all of a sudden, he’s the father of a fifteen year old. He’s engaged to a woman with a tragic past. He’s about to have twins. That can’t be easy on anyone. Not even someone as strong as Ethan.”

“I can guarantee you one thing Leanne. That man, doesn’t regret a second of the time he has spent with you and that girl. You hear me?” She hoped and prayed that he was right because she needed him, and Ariel did too. And when the twins got here, they were going to need their father just as much, if not more.

“But…” She wanted to argue. She wanted to fight. But she didn’t know if she had it in her. She knew that Jack was right, that he had a point, but something inside her was still scared.

“No. No buts. He loves you more than he has ever loved anyone or anything in this world.” It had certainly been a while since he had showed her how much he loved her, or simply told her for that matter. “And he would do anything for you. And he loves Ariel so much it hurts him. You two girls are his entire world. And these twins, they are going to be his whole world too. He’s never been more excited for anything in his entire life.”

“He doesn’t show it.” She whispered as the tears fell harder. She hated crying, she was so tired of it, she just wanted things to be better.

“He’s scared Leanne.” Jack’s whispered voice startled her.

“Scared? Ethan’s not afraid of anything.” He had never been scared of anything before, at least not that she knew of.

“He’s afraid of losing you. Or one of those precious babies.” She was terrified of that too, especially after the scare little Grace had given them a few weeks ago. But Ethan had always maintained his composure and he had always stayed strong. “He’s scared that something will go wrong and his entire world will be shattered, again.”

She hadn’t thought of it that way, she hadn’t taken into account that she wasn’t the only one who’s whole world had been shattered by a death. Hers had happened all at once. His had happened twice. She had never stopped to acknowledge that and she felt horrible about it. He was afraid that something would go wrong and everything would come crashing down around him. She let out another sob as she let that knowledge sink in.

“Look, I know that Ethan and I don’t have the best history together. Our relationship has been rocky at best. And that’s my fault and I take full responsibility for that.” Jack’s words startled her. He had never talked with her about his relationship with Ethan before. In fact, he had never talked to Ethan about his relationship with him before. She didn’t know where this was coming from but she certainly didn’t want to stop him from being open with her. 

“I never gave his mother the support that she needed to raise those two boys. And I never gave either one of them the love and care that they needed. They deserved so much better. They all did. And when Ethan’s mother died,” He let out a soft sob and Leanne couldn’t help but reach over and take his hand in hers, “when I lost Soph, my entire world crumbled. I didn’t show it. I didn’t tell anyone, not even my boys, just how badly it hurt me to lose her.” Seeing this side of Jack was both heartwarming and heartbreaking and she wished that he would have this conversation with Ethan too.

“But Ethan, Ethan lost everything. His mother was his life. He took care of her from the second she found out she was sick until she took her last breath. He held her hand and helped her bathe and get dressed. He cooked for her and made sure she took her medicine. He did everything that I should have done for her. And he did the same for his brother.” His words were barely a whisper now and she felt her heart breaking in her chest at what he was saying to her. Ethan had taken care of his mom, just like he was taking care of her, and then he had lost her. She understood his fear now more than ever. “He was the real man of that house. And I will never stop regretting how I handled that, how I treated his mother, how I treated them, they didn’t deserve that.”

“He never talks about her. Or his past. Not with me anyway.” She wished that she knew more about his mom, that he would share things with her about the woman. “I know he tells Ariel things. I hear them talking sometimes. But he keeps it all hidden from me. I wish he would open up to me.”

“He wants you to see him as strong.” He offered her a soft smile as he turned toward her and squeezed her hand.” He gets that from me too.”

“He is strong. He’s the strongest person I know.” And that part was true now, more than ever. “I just wish he trusted me more.”

“He does trust you Leanne. And he loves you. Trust me.” She was thankful to hear those words, she needed them.

“I know he misses them. His mom. His brother.” She knew how hard it was to miss someone everyday. She knew what it was like to constantly wish that they were still here with you. But for her and Ethan, she supposed it was completely different. If her people were still here, if John and the kids hadn’t died in that accident six years ago, she never would have met Ethan. She never would have started dating him and she never would have adopted Ariel. She probably wouldn’t have gotten to know Jack, and her and Rox probably wouldn’t have ever met. Her entire life would be different if they were still here. But for Ethan, she supposed that his life wouldn’t be different, it just might be better. “I know he does, even though he doesn’t say it.”

“We both do. And neither one of us will come right out and tell you.” She could tell that Jack missed his first wife and his middle son more than he wanted to admit and it killed her. “It’s not a good trait to have, but it’s one we unfortunately share.”

“I wish I could have met them.” She whispered. She wished more than anything that they were here right now. That Sophia was here to offer motherly words of wisdom to them both, that she were here to spoil her grand babies. She wished that Jack was here for Ethan to lean on, so that he had a friendly shoulder to cry on, someone to talk to when things got tough.

“They would have loved you. And Ariel too.” The smile on Jack’s face as he talked about them made her heart flutter. “And Soph, she would be losing her mind at the prospect of having two little grand babies to spoil.”

“She was a special woman wasn’t she?” She got the impression that she was the most special woman in the world to Jack, and to Ethan.

“That she was. I never appreciated her when I should have.” She felt his hand squeeze hers once more as he offered her a soft smile. “I think Ethan feels like he sometimes sees that in himself as well.”

“I know he appreciates me and I know he loves me.” She hated that Ethan felt like that. She knew that he loved her, she was stupid to ever question that. “I just wish he’d be more…”

“Open? Loving?” Jack seemed to get his son even more than he thought.

“I wish he was the Ethan he had been when we first started seeing each other. We used to be able to talk about everything.” And they had, even before they had started dating, even when they were just friends. They told each other everything and they leaned on each other for so much, both at Angels and outside of it.

“You still can talk about everything. You just have to push him a little.” He offered her a wink as he spoke and she let out a soft chuckle. “Trust me, he’ll open up once he sees just how willing you are to do the same.”

“You think so?” She knew that he was right, she knew that Ethan just needed a push in the right direction.

“I know so.” He whispered. “Remember, he’s more like me than he thinks?”

“Good point.” She offered him a smile as she leaned back against the swing once more. She closed her eyes as she let out a sigh. “Thanks for all of this Jack. Really. It means so much to us both to have you here. I know Ethan won’t come right out and say it, but it does. We couldn’t have done any of this without you.”

“There’s no place I’d rather be.” He squeezed her hand once more as he smiled down at her, his body relaxing back against the swing next to her. “And besides, isn’t that what family’s for?”

She let out a soft sigh at his words and she couldn’t help but let them sink in some. He was right, they were a family, all of them, and they needed to stick together. They needed to stick together for each other, but also for these babies. They needed them to be strong more than they needed anything else right now. And that’s exactly what they all needed from each other as well.


	12. Making Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ethan and Leanne have a lot of making up to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *This is the end, for now. I have a few more chapters in the works, but my muse has abandoned this story, and so have most (if not all) of it’s readers. So it’s over for now guys! It’s been real.

Ethan was tired, beyond tired, and not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. Ever since his talk with Rox three days ago he had been trying to get himself together so that he could be there for Leanne, but she still seemed to be so closed off with him. He didn’t know what else to do at this point and he had honestly just stopped trying. He could tell that something was bugging her, but every time he tried to talk to her she shrugged him off. So he had stopped. He had let her be and he had taken to sleeping on the couch for the few hours of the day that he was actually home.

He had also continued to pick up as many shifts at Angels as he could, along with taking ride alongs with Rox whenever they were available. She had given him hell about it and so had Campbell, but both had been helpless to stop him at this point. And even though he knew he was working himself into the ground, right now, working was the only thing that made sense to him. 

His relationship with Leanne wasn’t the only thing out of wack either. He had also started having trouble connecting with Ariel. And while he wasn’t sure which one of them was to blame for their disconnect, he was pretty certain that she was catching on to her mother’s feelings of angst toward him. Not that he could blame her, but he definitely missed having his little girl in his corner sometimes.

Pulling into the driveway he was thankful to see that all of the lights were off and that the house appeared quiet. It was well after midnight and he knew that Rox had gotten off around ten, so he prayed that even she was already in bed. He turned the Jeep off with a sigh and quietly exited the vehicle, making his way toward the front door with careful steps. He was exhausted and all he wanted to do was take a shower and close his eyes for a few hours. 

Opening and shutting the door quickly behind him he listened out for any signs of movement in the house, but he was grateful when he was met with silence. The last thing he wanted to do right now was to wake Leanne and have another fight with her. Not after the one they had that morning before he had left for his shift. His head and his heart were entirely too tired for that mess.

Stepping into the den turned bedroom he noted that Leanne was sleeping peacefully, her back turned toward him as she took soft, even breaths, and he let out a sigh of relief. He knew that she had been struggling to sleep the past few nights and he knew that that was probably contributing to her attitude some. She certainly was in a much better mood when she had slept properly the night before. He quietly made his way into the bathroom and showered as quickly as possible. When he was done, he stepped into the bedroom and grabbed the closest shirt he could find. He had just pulled it over his head and was on his way toward the couch in the living room when he heard a shift from the bed behind him.

“Where are you going?” Leanne’s voice was soft and he barely heard it, despite the otherwise quiet house.

“The couch.” He really, really didn’t want to fight with her. He just wanted to sleep and he didn’t care at this point that he had been kicked out of the bed. He knew that she didn’t want him anywhere near her and he had accepted that.

“You don’t have to do that.” He stopped at her words, and did a double take, she certainly hadn’t been feeling that way the past few weeks, especially at bedtime.

“I know you can’t sleep when I’m in here.” At least that’s what he kept telling himself. He was a very one note sleeper and once he was settled, he was fine, but she had always been one to toss and turn. And now that she wasn’t able too, he found that she much preferred to just have the space all to herself. “It’s fine.”

“Ethan…” He could hear the sadness in her voice and he let out a sigh. He hated that she felt this way. And he hated that it always seemed to be because of him that she was so sad.

“What?” His question wasn’t meant to be so sharp and he closed his eyes as he dropped his head downward.

“Come to bed.” She whispered. He lifted his head as he turned around to face her and the sad look on her face broke his heart in two. “Please.”

He couldn’t resist her then, not when she looked so broken and down. He knew that she needed him, just like he needed her, and he knew that one of them had to be the one to give in. If it helped her get through this, if it helped make her feel better, he was willing to be the one to do so. He took a few soft steps forward before stopping at the edge of the bed and looking down at her. She cast her sad eyes up at him and he let out a sigh as he lowered himself down beside her, pulling the covers over his body as he settled on his side facing her.

“What time is it anyway?” Her question was soft as she moved herself toward him and he was shocked when she settled so close. They hadn’t been this close in almost a month and it took his breath away to finally have her so near.

“Quarter to two.” He knew it was late, way later than it should have been for him to be just now crawling into bed, but things had gotten so busy at the hospital and he hadn’t been able to tear himself away.

“You were supposed to get off at ten.” He could hear the concern in her words instead of the anger and he couldn’t help but reach out and brush a strand of hair away from her cheek.

“House fire.” He hated fires more than anything and they always seemed to be the most draining of events. “Things got a little crazy.”

“Ah.” He knew that she understood what he meant, she hated fires as well, almost as much as she hated car accidents.

“You should try and sleep love.” He cupped her cheek gently as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Having her so close to him was breaking him and he was reminded of just how much he truly loved this woman.

She nodded her head then and closed her eyes and he figured that she was on her way back to sleep. Rolling over onto his back, he settled back against the pillows with a sigh. He tried to force his eyes shut but it just wasn’t happening. But then he felt it, her body scooting closer to his, as close to him as she could get with her stomach sticking out anyway, and he took a deep breath. She hadn’t shown him this much attention in so long and he didn’t know what to do with it.

“I’ve missed you.” She whispered as she settled her head next to his on the pillow.

“I haven’t gone anywhere.” He whispered back. He knew that she meant though, he had missed her too, and she was right there this whole time.

“You’re always at work.” He could tell that she was starting to get frustrated with the conversation and he just wanted it to end right there.

“They’re short staffed. Things have been a mess.” And it was true, things had been a mess. Even with just one doctor down they were struggling to keep the status quo, not that there ever was one of those at Angels Memorial. “Plus, the extra money is nice.”

“We don’t need the money Ethan. You know that.” He hated that everyone kept trying to tell him that the money wasn’t necessary. He was about to be a father of three, money was always necessary.

“You won’t be saying that in 3 years when Ariel needs money for college.” He knew that college wasn’t cheap, it was one of the main reasons that he and Jack had both joined the military. They couldn’t rely on their grades alone to carry them and they needed help with school, which the Army had provided for them both. He didn’t want his kids to have to do that, he didn’t want them to have to join the military or take out an abundance of student loans just to survive. “Or in 18 years when we have to put the two of them through school.”

“I like to think all 3 of our children will be smart enough to put themselves through college. Scholarships are still a thing you know?” Of course he knew that, he just didn’t want them to ever be without.

“Either way.” He let out a huff as he closed his eyes. His head was hurting again and all this talk about kids and money and their future wasn’t helping. “They’ll need money for cars, and books, and food.”

“We don’t need the money Ethan.” She barked, her arm pushing her up a little so that she could glare at him from her spot next to him. 

“Well I’m just trying to do what I can. If I can’t work I don’t know what else to do.” And that part was true, he didn’t know what else to do to keep busy. He had done almost everything in the nursery already. He had deep cleaned the entire house from top to bottom. He had stocked up on groceries and supplies for after the twins arrived. He didn’t know what else to do to keep his hands working. And while he would rather enjoy using his hands to take care of Leanne, it’s not like her, or Ariel, really wanted him around much lately. “It’s not like Ariel really needs me hovering over her 24/7. And Lord knows you don’t want me around all the time either.”

“Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like it if you were here more than you were there.” Her voice was sad and he watched as her eyes filled with tears.

“I’ll be here plenty once the twins get here. I promise.” He didn’t know what else to say to her. He didn’t know how to make her feel better. He was doing the best he could and it was slowly killing him.

“I know.” She dropped back down to her side then, her eyes closing as she let out a sigh.

“So what’s the issue then?” He really didn’t know what was wrong and he hated it.

“I miss you.” He barely heard the words leave her lips and when he turned his head toward her he could see that she was full on crying, big, fat tears falling down her cheeks as she kept her eyes closed from him.

“I’m right here Lea.” He whispered as he reached out for her.

“No you’re not.” She sniffled then before she pushed herself away from him and back over to the other side of the bed.

He let out a sigh as he contemplated moving closer to her, but he knew it was best if he kept his distance. Instead, he rolled over onto his other side and closed his eyes as he felt his own tears threaten to fall. He hated how distant they had become lately and he wished he knew what to do to fix it. He knew that he needed to be home more, he knew that she needed him, but she wouldn’t come right out and tell him how to help and he was starting to lose all hope.

—

When Leanne awoke the next morning the first thing she noticed was just how eerily quiet the house seemed. She instantly knew that she was alone and she started to panic. She hadn’t been left alone in the house since she had come home and it scared her. All she could think about was what would happen if something went wrong. These babies were so unpredictable these days and she was terrified that today would be the day they would decide to do something crazy. 

Letting out a sigh she pulled herself from the bed and made her way through the downstairs slowly. She called out for Ethan, but there was no answer. Same with Rox and his dad. She figured one of them must have taken Ariel to school, but she didn’t know why all three of them were gone at the same time. It didn’t make any sense. Letting out a soft sob she made her way back into the bedroom and grabbed her phone from it’s place on the makeshift nightstand. 

Where are you? She texted Ethan first, figuring that as her fiancé it was kind of his responsibility to be there more than it was anyone else’s. She knew that that was a bad way to look at it, especially after all the fighting they had been doing, but deep down she just wanted him to care as much as he used too.

Taking the kid to school. She sat down on the bed as she read the text. So if he had taken the teen to school, where were the others?

Are you coming home afterward? Not that it mattered, because in all truth, she didn’t want Rox or Jack, she just wanted Ethan.

Wasn’t planning on it. Why? She felt tears prick at her eyes and she choked back another sob. She didn’t understand why he was putting so much distance between them lately. It didn’t make any sense.

I’m alone. She hated feeling alone more than anything and it was something she wasn’t used too. Even before the babies had given them a scare and she had been placed on bedrest she hadn’t felt alone in months. Not since her and Ethan had make things official, not since he had moved in with her and Ariel.

Dad will be home soon. She wanted to scream.

It’s not your dad that I want Ethan. She hoped that admitting to him out-loud that she wanted him and only him would do the trick.

I have to work Leanne. But she was obviously wrong.

Call out sick. She knew that he had plenty of sick time to use, hell, he had plenty of vacation time as well. She knew that he was saving some of it for after the twins arrived, but once again, money wasn’t an issue and she had been fine with him taking time unpaid.

I can’t do that. That was bullshit and he had to know that she knew it.

Yes you can. I’ll do it for you. She would call Campbell in a heartbeat and tell him that Ethan wasn’t coming in if that’s what it took. She wasn’t afraid of the other man, not one bit.

Don’t. She let out a frustrated growl.

Just please come home Ethan. I need you. She needed him more than she probably ever needed him before. And not just because she was physically miserable, but because she was emotionally and mentally miserable too. She missed her fiancé, her best-friend, the man that she had fallen in love with. She missed him so much it hurt and right now she just needed him by her side.

Are you okay? Are the babies okay? She wanted to lie. She wanted to tell him that things weren’t okay just so that he would rush home to her.

I just… But she didn’t want to start a panic that would spread through Angels like wild fire. 

As soon as she sent the last message she regretted it because her phone started ringing in her hands. She should have known that he would panic at the simple thought that something could be wrong with their babies. She wished that he would panic like that when it came to her.

“Hello?” She answered the phone as she choked back yet another sob. She certainly didn’t want to start crying while on the phone with him.

“Hey. Are you okay?” His voice was soft and she could hear the panic in his words. “Are you hurting? Is something wrong?”

“I just want you here with me.” She sobbed out. She couldn’t hold back the tears anymore, it just hurt too much knowing that he’d rather be at work than with her. “Is that too much to ask?”

“I’ll be home tonight. I promise.” She knew that was a lie. If he was able to work all day and night he would.

“That’s what you said last night.” In fact, that’s what he had been saying for almost two weeks straight now. “And the night before. And the night before that.”

“Leanne…” She didn’t want to fight with him and she could tell that he didn’t want to fight with her, but she needed him to understand just how much she was hurting.

“Please Ethan. Please. I’m scared okay?” She felt the tears fall faster down her cheeks and she wished more than anything that he was there to hold her. She needed to feel his arms around her so badly it hurt. “I’m tired and I’m scared and I’m overwhelmed and I miss you. Just please come home so that we can be together for a little bit. Please.”

She heard Ethan let out a sigh but there was no response on his end. At first she thought he had hung-up but then she heard voices on the other side. Letting out a frustrated growl she decided to lay it all out for him, once and for all.

“Fine. Forget it. Don’t come home.” She regretted saying those words but they had to be said. If he wanted to act like a child, she would let him. But he wasn’t going to do it under her roof and around her children. “But if you continue to not come home, you won’t have a home here anymore Ethan. Do you understand me? I can’t keep doing this.”

She waited once again for a reply but there wasn’t one and she let out a sob. Then there was silence and the line went dead. She couldn’t believe that he didn’t argue back, that he didn’t have anything to say in regards to her threat. She felt her heart breaking in her chest at the very thought that she may have just lost him forever.

—

After her phone call with Ethan had ended so horribly she had crawled back into bed and buried herself under the covers. She had turned the TV on, but she had no idea what exactly she was watching, she just relished in the sound of voices breaking through the stone cold silence of the large house. She couldn’t stop crying, big, fat tears rolling down her cheeks as she tried to make sense of everything that had just happened.

She hoped that Ethan’s lack of words, that his immediate hang-up and disappearance weren’t an indicator of what he was going to do to her for real. She knew that she had threatened him with not coming home, but she honestly didn’t know what she would do if he did that. She couldn’t imagine her life without him. And she couldn’t imagine raising these babies, and Ariel, without their father in the picture.

Letting out another deep sob she rolled onto her side and buried her face against the pillow. She heard the front door open and she prayed that if it were Jack or Rox that they would just leave her be. The last thing she wanted to do right now was explain to either one of them the fight that her and Ethan had just had. She heard footsteps moving through the hallway and into the room, so she closed her eyes shut tight and pretended to be asleep. But that was when she felt it, the bed dipping as a body climbed onto the mattress behind her. And then there was an arm wrapping tightly around her waist and a soft kiss being pressed against her neck. She knew it was Ethan and she had never been so happy to have him in her bed.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered, his hand stopping to rest just above the babies location in her stomach. She felt Gracie kick for the first time in a few hours and she let out a sob at the idea that the little girl knew her father was there.

“Don’t.” She didn’t want to have this discussion, she didn’t want to talk about it. She just wanted to forget that it had ever happened.

Ethan gently rolled her over then, his hand settling on her cheek as she relaxed back against the pillows. She tried to avoid making eye contact with him, but he wouldn’t budge, and when she finally looked into his eyes her heart broke. He had been crying, a lot, and his eyes were red and raw and his cheeks were tear stained. She hated that they did this to each other, it wasn’t fair.

“No Lea, let me talk.” He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss against her lips then, his fingers threading in her hair as he pulled away and offered her a gentle smile. “I’m sorry okay? I’m sorry for pushing you away and for doing this to you. I’m sorry that I’ve made you feel all alone. I never wanted any of this to happen.” She could hear the sincerity in his voice, the way his tone changed as he choked back sobs. She knew that he meant it, she knew that he never wanted to hurt her or Ariel. “You hear me? I hate seeing you in pain and it kills me knowing that there’s nothing I can do to help you or them. I just want everything to be okay.”

“But you’re not here. I need you to be here.” She sobbed out her words as she reached up to run her fingers along his cheek. She had missed touching him the past few weeks. “The kids, all of them, they need you to be here.”

“I am here. Okay? I’m here. From here on out. I’m not leaving.” She rolled her eyes at his words but he gently tugged her back toward him. “I went by Angels before I came home and I talked to Campbell. I told him that I want to start my leave early. That I need to be here with you and Ariel. He wasn’t happy, but he was understanding. And that’s that.”

“Ethan… we still have several weeks to go.” She didn’t want him to use all of his time up, as much as she wanted him home now, she knew that she was going to need him even more after the twins were born. “What happens if they don’t come until the end and then you’ve used all your leave?”

“I already told Campbell that it didn’t matter.” She wished she could have been a fly on the wall for that conversation. “That I was taking the two months after their born that we agreed on anyway.”

“And he was okay with that?” She honestly wasn’t surprised though, Will had been nothing but supportive the past few weeks. He and Emily had kept Ariel entertained and busy more times than she could count and she was thankful for their friendship.

“Well I did kind of start to cry, so I think I scared him into accepting it.” She couldn’t imagine Ethan crying in front of him though. He was a man of very few emotions when it came to other people. She may have known how vulnerable he was, but other people often didn’t believe her when she said that he was a sensitive man.

“You cried in front of Will?” She raised an eyebrow and he offered her a sloppy smile as he tugged her even closer, his forehead falling against hers with a soft sigh.

“I’m really, really sorry Lea.” There were tears in his eyes and rolling down his cheeks and she tightened her grip around the strands of hair at the base of his neck. She hated seeing him cry, absolutely hated it. “Hearing you say that I could lose this. That I could lose you and Ariel and the twins. That I could lose this home. It broke something inside me.” She hadn’t meant to terrify him like that, she honestly didn’t even know why she had said it, she surely didn’t mean it. “I’ve never been so scared in my entire life. My mother being sick, finding Jack’s body, everything with Ariel, none of that scared me nearly as much as the prospect of losing my family.”

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” She whispered her words as she felt more tears pour down her own cheeks.

“I know. But you did. And it’s okay that you did.” He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips as he spoke and she tried to pull herself even closer to him. “Because I needed it. I needed that push. It was the only way I was going to finally break.”

“I’m scared Ethan.” She sobbed out. She hadn’t wanted to admit to him, or anyone, just how terrified she was right now. This whole experience had been such a rollercoaster ride and she wasn’t sure which way was up anymore.

“I know baby.” He whispered softly, his fingers tangling in her hair as he dragged her lips back to his. “I am too.”

“I want so much for them.” She had never worried like this with Eli and Caitlin and she wondered which was a more fair situation for her and her children. “I want them to have the best life they possibly can. I’m so afraid that I won’t be able to give them that.”

“I know love. I feel the same way.” She knew that Ethan was worried about their futures, that he wanted what was best for them and for Ariel.

“I mean, I worried with Eli, and especially with Caitlin, but nothing like this.” Being pregnant with Eli had also been a breeze, especially when compared with how difficult her pregnancy with Caitlin had been. And then, to top it off, she couldn’t even compare it to this pregnancy because they were nothing alike. “This is my chance to start over. My second chance at life and a family and I just want it to be perfect.”

“It is perfect babe. It’s more perfect that you can imagine.” She was honestly shocked to hear him say that, especially after everything they had been through and all the fighting they had done. “And everything is going to be okay. You hear me? These babies, they’re going to be fine. And Ariel is going to be fine. We are going to have the most beautiful family and everything is going to be okay.”

“And us?” Right now though, she was more worried about their future. She couldn’t imagine life without him, and she didn’t even want to imagine what that might look like. Not after they had worked so hard to get here.

“What about us?” His eyes were soft as he whispered his question and she could tell that he was afraid of what she would say back.

“Are we going to be okay?” She just wanted things to go back to the way they had been.

“We’re always going to be okay. You know how I know?” She certainly was curious.

“How’s that?” She let her fingers fall down to his bicep as he dragged her even closer, their foreheads touching as their breaths tangled together. She could hear his heart racing in his chest, his eyes filling with tears as he stared down at her.

“Because no matter how angry you make me. Or how frustrated or stressed out I become. No matter how distant I feel from you. I never stop loving you.” He pressed a soft kiss to her lips then, his hand cupping her face tightly. “I never stop waking up every morning and thanking God that you’re mine. And I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I never will. I will love you for the rest of my life. And I will love you more with everyday that passes. And that, my dear, is a promise.”

“I love you Ethan.” And she did love him. More than anything in this world and she couldn’t imagine loving anyone else for as long as she lived.

“I love you too Leanne.” He whispered back and she could see the love radiating in his eyes. She knew that he meant it and she knew that he would never leave her, no matter how difficult things might get, she knew that he would always be there for her, just like she would always be there for him.

**Author's Note:**

> *Don’t forget to comment :)


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